Illinois to receive $1 billion for abandoned coal mine cleanup

[June 17, 2023]  By Zeta Cross | The Center Square contributor

(The Center Square) – Thanks to the bipartisan infrastructure bill and other federal initiatives, Illinois is set to receive $1 billion over the next 15 years to restore and reclaim land that has been polluted by abandoned coal mines.

“We are talking about a reclamation project that typically had $9 or $10 million dollars a year that now has $85 million,” said Amanda Pankau, energy campaign coordinator with Prairie Rivers Network. “This is really, really exciting.”

Jobs will be created and priority for the jobs will be given to displaced coal miners, said U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland.

“We are making the largest investment in abandoned mine reclamation in history,” she said.

Federal funding will enable Illinois to continue to address health and safety problems resulting from the abandoned mines. Additional funding will allow the state to tackle environmental problems caused by the abandoned mines.

“Communities may have been told in the past that their site does not qualify for funding,” Pankau said. “Today, it does.”

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources will select the reclamation sites and manage the process with input from communities and the public. The U.S. Department of the Interior has made it a priority for the public to be involved in the site selection conversations, Pankau said.

“We want to get the word out about what these sites look like, what kinds of problems they cause for the land, the animals and the people who live nearby,” Pankau said. “We want to get people in contact with IDNR to begin a conversation about what reclamation looks like.”

There are 20 active coal mines in Illinois today, making Illinois the fourth largest coal producing state in the nation. The Illinois coal basin underlies two-thirds of the state.

IDNR estimates that there are 5,500 abandoned mines in the state. Approximately 178,000 acres of residential and other built-up land is close to underground mines and may be susceptible to subsidence, the IDNR website says. Mine roofs in coal mines were generally supported by pillars of piled-up coal. Over time, the ground can sink or subside, creating sinkholes and destabilizing building foundations.

Before 1977, when shut down requirements for old coal mines were established during the Carter administration, mine owners typically walked away from spent mines leaving exposed gob and slurry, unstable land, and toxins that could threaten local waterways.

“There is a swath of Route 66 outside Gillespie, Illinois, where the water in the roadside ditch of Old Route 66 is red because of acid mine drainage,” Pankau said. “There are many different types of abandoned mine lands. Let’s work with the Department of Natural Resources to put this money to the best use over the next 15 years.”

Pankau invites people with questions to contact her at the Prairie River Network. Contact: 217-344-2371 x 214 or [e-mail]. To see if an abandoned mine is located near your house or business, see the Coal Mine Site Viewer.