(The Center Square) — Pennsylvania’s orphan oil and gas well problem has gotten much attention in recent months.
So too has the commonwealth’s legacy of hazardous mine lands. Now, the federal government is sending hundreds of millions of dollars to deal with them.
This week, the Department of the Interior announced $244 million will come into Pennsylvania to reclaim mining lands that still present risks to humans and nature alike.
“Overall, this funding is expected to enable the reclamation of nearly all current inventoried abandoned mine lands in this country,” Department of Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said at a press conference in Bovard, where stabilization work is ongoing to avoid mine subsidence that threaten homes in the community.
Subsidence is the movement of the ground surface that follows the collapse of underground mines. Damage usually comes to homes in the form of wall deformations, cracking, and windows and doors not opening or
Read more…
