Federal Funding Programs

Despite their impact on human health and the environment, there is no federal funding program dedicated to cleaning up abandoned hardrock mines in the western United States. Nevertheless, there are a few government grant programs available for non-profits or community groups that are searching for funding for abandoned mine restoration.

Brownfields

The Brownfields program was started in 1995 to deal with abandoned industrial sites that may be contaminated by hazardous wastes. There are an estimated 450,000 brownfields sites around the country, not including abandoned mines, which may be eligible for this program. Brownfields grants aid in the redevelopment or reuse of these sites in order to put the land back into local usage while strengthening the local tax base, creating jobs, and taking development pressure off of rural lands. The Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act, enacted in 2002, reformed the major hindrance to brownfields cleanup – the liability concerns inherent in Superfund law. It also created four different grant programs to help fund brownfield redevelopment. Of particular importance to abandoned mines are the Brownfields Assessment Grants and Brownfields Cleanup Grants, which fund cooperative approaches to assessment, clean up and redevelopment at properties with planned greenspace, recreational, or other nonprofit uses.

http://www.epa.gov/brownfields

Clean WaterAct – Section 319 Grants

The Clean Water Act was amended in 1987 to include Section 319, which provided funds for each state to develop a Nonpoint Source Management Program. A non point source refers to water pollution which is carried by rainfall or snowmelt, such as fertilizer on farmer’s pasture, oil that collects on a road or parking lot, or toxic seepage from a mine site. A point source, on the other hand, is specific, identifiable pollution source, such as a pipe at a sewage treatment plant.

States that have approved Nonpoint Source Management Programs request funding from the federal government and must provide a 40% match to their funding request. The states then use the money to combat water quality problems through their own state specific grant programs which award money for technical assistance, trainings, education, and hands-on projects.

For more info on 319 grants:
http://www.epa.gov/owow/nps/cwact.html

About the Nonpoint Source program:
http://www.epa.gov/owow/nps/index.html

State 319 Grant Programs:

MT- http://www.deq.state.mt.us/wqinfo/nonpoint/319Grants.asp
ID - http://www.deq.state.id.us/water/water1.htm#ww_nonpoint
WA - http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/funding/
OR - http://www.deq.state.or.us/wq/nonpoint/wq319gt.htm
CA - http://www.swrcb.ca.gov/funding/awqgp/
UT - http://ag.utah.gov/mktcons/project_reporting.html

Removals by BLM/Forest Service

The Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management receive money each year to cleanup abandoned mines on land that is under their jurisdiction. Top level officials in each agency rank projects and allocate funding based on their risk to human health of the environment. It is possible to work with local level officials to get the funding for an abandoned mine that is affecting your community. In addition, community members can ask their senators or federal representatives to introduce an appropriation for a specific project in the congressional budget. This process would involve meeting with your representatives and writing letters to convince them that the proposed cleanup project is a high priority in the community.