A recent report through the Government Accountability Office (GAO) raised significant considerations about the Department of the Interior’s control of the Abandoned Mining Lands Economic Revitalization (AMLER) program. Despite an allocation of $1 billion over 8 years, about 30% of the designated budget has been used, leading to a bottleneck in the reclamation of deserted mining lands, with Pennsylvania being one of the main beneficiaries affected.
GAO learned of control issues within the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE), pointing to a lack of systematic tracking of allocation reviews and approvals. This inconsistency has resulted in unreliable data, leading to redundancy and wasted time and effort. Additionally, OSMRE has failed to identify transparent internal policies and procedures, leading to duplication of efforts between headquarters and regional offices.
The report also highlights the slow pace at which state budgets are developed, leading to delays that increase over several months in each fiscal year. Such delays have particularly hampered the application and implementation processes, with many states delaying the timeline by more than a year. For example, an assignment in Virginia stalled after a lengthy review that lasted more than 1,100 days, ultimately leading the applicant to withdraw, thus blocking $1. 6 million that could have been allocated elsewhere.
Despite those challenges, some allocations moved quickly through the approval procedure, such as a recreational allocation in Ohio that was permitted in less than 30 days. However, those are exceptions to the norm.
In Pennsylvania, the budget allocation technique differs because it is based on an internal list and not external requests. However, Pennsylvania has funded only 78 of many potential projects, illustrating the overall administrative and bureaucratic delays plaguing the AMLER program.
The effect of these administrative disorders extends beyond monetary inefficiencies; It also hampers the economic prospects of those lands. Although the purpose of the program is to encourage economic expansion through mine site rehabilitation, GAO has had difficulty determining the direct economic results, such as task creation, of AMLER funding.
To address those inefficiencies, GAO advised that OSMRE document unspent funding allocations, provide clearer guidance, and put in place a more formulated and consistent tracking formula for allocation approvals. These steps are intended to improve the effectiveness of the AMLER program and ensure that deserted mine lands can be reclaimed and redeveloped into economically productive sites, especially in states like Pennsylvania, where the need and prospects for revitalization are significant.
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