AML Partnership

Wyoming State Seal.

BLM logo.

State-Federal Partnership

  • Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality, Abandoned Mine Land Division (DEQ/AML)
  • Bureau of Land Management (BLM) 
  • Memorandum of Understanding signed in 1984
  • Cooperative Agreements authorizing joint AML reclamation projects were signed in 2004 & 2005


Funding

State of Wyoming

  • Federal coal mining reclamation fees
  • Authorized by the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA) 
    • SMCRA fee reauthorizaiton is pending in US Congress
  • 25% of fees returned to State for reclamation purposes 
  • After coal mine reclamation needs met, remainder available for non-coal mine reclamation 
  • State of Wyoming initiated AML program in 1980 
  • In 1986, certified that adequate funds were available to meet hazardous coal mine reclamation needs 
  • Annual budget of $25-28 million, 95% of which goes to on-the-ground reclamation

BLM

  • Congressional budget allocation to address environmental hazards & watershed concerns related to AML