CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia will receive an additional $27 million in federal funding for abandoned coal mine cleanup.
Sens. Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito announced the funding Tuesday from the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement. The office’s Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalization program, established in 2016, pays for projects that return ex-coal mining sites to productive uses.
In February the state received $141 million for reclamation projects at former coal mines from President Joe Biden’s $1 trillion infrastructure deal.
Also Tuesday, Manchin announced that projects in two southern West Virginia communities will receive federal COVID-19 relief funds. The McDowell County Public Service District will receive $6.5 million for water and fire protection services to about 50 businesses in Welch, while Regional Optimal Communications in Princeton will receive $1.2 million to complete the design of a statewide broadband implementation plan.