Federal legislation could help local plants, incentivize coal refuse clean-up
KAYLEE LINDENMUTH / SENTINEL PHOTO - The Schuylkill Energy Resources plant near Yatesville in Mahanoy Township. The plant, a co-gen facility, burns coal refuse.
By Kaylee Lindenmuth | [email protected]
YATESVILLE – A bill before the U.S. House of Representatives could have a local impact by incentivizing “environmentally-focused cleanup and remediation of coal refuse piles.”
U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser introduced the Mine Affected Community Energy and Environment Act last week, which, if passed, would create a federal tax credit for coal refuse power plants, like the Schuylkill Energy Resources and Gilberton Coal Co. facilities in Yatesville and Morea respectively.
In recent years, culm banks, such as the locally-known ‘AC/DC’ mountain behind the Columbia Fire Company, have been reclaimed to an extent, and Meuser said, as the culm banks become farther and farther from the facility, his bill will encourage companies to continue the reclamation efforts.
“As the culm banks are farther away from the co-gen plants, they’ll have the incentive to clean it all up,” Meuser told the Sentinel. “We’re going to eliminate them [culm banks] and make it useful area.”
The bill would provide a tax credit of $12.50 for each ton of coal refuse removed, though the bill requires a contribution of $.50 per ton to a state-managed fund for additional cleanup.
“Fixing our local environment begins with cleaning up coal refuse dumps,” Rep. Matt Cartwright said in a media release. “For too long, communities throughout our region have had to live with these coal refuse piles polluting their air and water while inhibiting economic development, and this bill is an important step in getting rid of these hazards.”
Meuser said in a media release that 220 million tons coal refuse cover 8,300 acres in the Commonwealth , which, if reclaimed and remediated by DEP, would cost $2 Billion.
Meuser added that an abundant natural gas supply and other items have “adversely altered the economics of the industry,” bringing energy prices below the break-even point for coal refuse plants.
“This tax credit will allow for the continued removal of these banks across PA where they remain a constant reminder of the legacy of past mining,” said Bobby Hughes, Executive Director of the Eastern PA Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation (EPCAMR). “These landscapes would otherwise continue to sit idle and contribute further pollution to our communities, rivers, and streams, which is an environmental injustice.”
Meuser said in a media release that 16 coal refuse plants remain in the United States, 12 of which are in Pennsylvania. Three of those plants — Wheelabrator, SER, and Gilberton Power — are in northern Schuylkill County.
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