CHARLESTON, W.Va. (June 5, 2020) – The West
Virginia Department of Environmental Protection’s (WVDEP) Office of Abandoned
Mine Lands and Reclamation (AML) is taking applications for a portion of $25
million in grant funding available for economic development projects.
The federal funding is administered by the AML
Pilot Program and projects must be located on or adjacent to mine sites that
ceased operations prior to the signing of the Surface Mine Control and
Reclamation Act (SMCRA) on Aug. 3, 1977. A map of known AML sites in West
Virginia can be found here.
Since 2016, the AML Pilot Program has
disbursed $105 million in grant funding to assist projects all across the West
Virginia coalfields.
The WVDEP is ultimately responsible for
determining which projects receive funding and works with an advisory committee
comprised of representatives from the West Virginia Department of Commerce, the
West Virginia Department of Transportation, as well as the Governor’s Office.
As the grant funding is provided by the
federal government, all projects must also be approved by the U.S. Department
of the Interior’s Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation, and Enforcement
(OSMRE).
The 2020 grant application, application tips
and guidelines, and other helpful resources are available on the AML Pilot Program webpage. Completed applications are due July 31,
2020.
For more WVDEP news and
information, go to www.dep.wv.gov. Also, connect with the agency on
all social media platforms. Follow @DEPWV on Twitter, Like us on Facebook
at https://www.facebook.com/depwv/, and find us on YouTube by
searching “Environment Matters.”
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