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The letter called on conference committee members currently working
on a pension overhaul bill to include provisions of Senate Bill 2616
in the final version of the bill.
U.S. Senate Bill 2616 would reauthorize the Abandoned Mine Land
Program, alter the distribution formula and keep the coal miners'
health benefit fund solvent for another 15 years. This would make it
possible for nearly 3,000 retired Illinois miners and their families
to continue to receive health care coverage. "This legislation
addresses concerns that many states are facing, including Illinois
-- trying to protect the health and safety of the people of
Illinois, trying to protect the environment, and trying to expand
the coal industry. It also means making sure that thousands of
people in our state will continue to have good health insurance, so
it's critical that Congress include these provisions in the bill and
pass it right away," Blagojevich said.
Included in Senate Bill 2616 are provisions to reauthorize the
Abandoned Mine Land Program for 15 years, allowing for continued
support of the program while providing adequate time to address
serious AML problems faced by the states. The legislation would also
modify the AML formulas to provide higher allocations for historic
production states having the most serious reclamation problems;
provide for states to have their unappropriated state share balances
returned, which allows for additional reclamation work, thereby
abating serious safety hazards; and authorize payments to the
Combined Benefit Fund, extending health coverage for miners who
would otherwise be uninsured.
"Southern Illinois has been hit especially hard by the closure of
several mine companies," said state Rep. Brandon Phelps,
D-Harrisburg. "The reauthorization of this program is essential
especially for the thousands of retired miners who have lost their
company health insurance in recent years. I urge Congress to make
this commitment to the families that have worked in our mine fields
and fueled our nation."
"Coal is an important contributor to the southern Illinois
economy," said Sen. Gary Forby, D-Benton. "This bill allows for us
to address health and environmental issues associated with abandoned
mine lands, while ensuring our ability to continue producing this
highly sought commodity."
The AML program is 100 percent federally funded through a special
production fee on active coal mining. The collected fees are placed
into the national Abandoned Mine Reclamation Trust Fund, from which
Congress annually appropriates money to the Office of Surface Mining
within the U.S. Department of Interior. The funds are then
distributed to eligible coal mining states and Indian tribes for
reclamation to abate health and safety hazards and environmental
degradation remaining on mined sites abandoned prior to the passage
of Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act on Aug. 3, 1977.
The national Abandoned Mine Reclamation Trust Fund now exceeds
$1.8 billion. For the past several years, the Office of Surface
Mining grant to Illinois has ranged between $8.5 million and $10
million. Under this reauthorization proposal, Illinois would expect
annual appropriations within or exceeding this range for 15 more
years, as well as an additional $29 million in unappropriated state
share balance that would be paid over a 10-year period.
The state of Illinois, through the Abandoned Mine Land
Reclamation Division of the Illinois Department of Natural
Resources, addresses abandoned mine site problems such as
dilapidated mine structures, open shafts, highwalls and water
contamination problems by using the grant funding process through
the Office of Surface Mining, AML's federal oversight authority.
Regular construction reclamation projects are addressed on a
prioritized basis, selected from an extensive inventory of eligible
sites maintained by the division. The AML Division also provides
emergency assistance when coal mine-related problems occur suddenly
and are life-threatening.
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Since its inception, the AML program has helped reclaim over 9,900
acres of abandoned mined lands in 58 Illinois counties, expending
more than $159 million in restoration of these lands. Over 22,000
acres of land in Illinois have been identified with serious problems
associated with past mining activities that would fall under the
parameters of the AML programs, including exposed mine refuse
materials, hazardous structures, open mine shafts and acid mine
drainage. The current inventory consists of more than 300 problem
sites located throughout the state, with an estimated associated
reclamation cost of approximately $69 million. The site list evolves
as new sites are discovered and reported and ongoing projects are
completed.
"Federal action to address the AML problems that states are
facing is crucial for continued growth of the industry," said Joe
Angleton, director of the Office of Mines and Minerals of the
Illinois Department of Natural Resources. "This bill is a good
compromise, representing the interests of the Eastern and Western
coal producing states, that will serve Illinois well. It also
provides us with a good framework as we continue to work towards a
long-term solution."
"This bill will offer a degree of stability to our abandoned mine
program," said Al Clayborne, supervisor of the Abandoned Mine Land
Reclamation Division. "Through previous grant funds, the department
has reclaimed a substantial amount of the state's abandoned lands,
and this reauthorization would allow us to begin planning for future
projects. This bill also provides much-needed health care to
retirees who, because of circumstances out of their control, are now
without coverage."
In addition to provisions addressing reclamation activities,
Senate Bill 2616 also includes provisions for continued health care
coverage for retired Illinois miners and their families who are
designated as orphan beneficiaries. The bill allows interest
incurred on the AML trust fund to be transferred to the Combined
Benefit Fund "orphans" fund to pay the health benefits of retirees
whose companies have gone out of business. Under this bill, there is
no annual cap on the amount of interest that can be transferred.
"All too often we see miners who have worked all of their life
and are left without health coverage when their company goes out of
business," said Gary Butler, a representative of the United Mine
Workers of America. "This legislation creates a safety net for those
individuals and their families by allowing them to continue
receiving coverage and maintain a healthy way of life"
In July, Blagojevich signed a law providing additional
safety precautions for Illinois' nearly 4,000 miners and rescuers.
The governor proposed the legislation in January, following the
tragic West Virginia mine accident that killed 12 miners. With
nearly 32 million tons of coal produced in Illinois each year,
including 20.4 million tons in southern Illinois, coal is a vital
contributor to the Illinois economy. Senate Bill 929, sponsored by
state Rep. Dan Reitz, D-Sparta, and state Sen. Gary Forby, D-Benton,
helps ensure that the men and women who are helping to revitalize
Illinois' coal industry are protected. Among other provisions, the
new law requires the installation of emergency communication devices
in all Illinois mines, requires escape routes be clearly marked,
requires stricter certification standards for supervisors and
independent contractors, and requires miners to carry self-contained
self-rescuers and have additional units nearby. [Related
article]
[News release from the governor's
office]
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