CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection’s (WVDEP) Office of Abandoned Mine Lands and Reclamation (AML) is taking applications for a portion of $35 million in grant funding available for economic development projects.
The federal funding is available through the Abandoned Mine Lands Economic Revitalization (AMLER) 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.
The 2022 grant application, application tips and guidelines, and other helpful resources are available on the
WVDEP's AMLER web page. Completed applications are due Monday, June 20, 2022 – West Virginia Day.
All projects must receive final approval from the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation, and Enforcement (OSMRE).
An advisory committee composed of representatives from the WVDEP, state Departments of Commerce, Tourism, and Transportation, and the Governor's Office, is responsible for determining project eligibility and advancing recommended projects to OSMRE.
Since 2016, the AMLER Program has committed $155 million in grant funding to assist projects all across the West Virginia coalfields.