The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection will spend the money on projects around the state that treat polluted mine water, stabilize unsafe mine lands, and put out underground mine fires.
The Interior Secretary was in Bethlehem Township, home to Black Dog Hollow, a 100-foot tall pile of coal waste left by a mine that closed 30 years ago.
West Virginia will soon be getting back a species it hasn't seen since the time of the Civil War. And elk could also be a key engine for rehabilitating old mine lands across the country.
Because clean-up funds for old mines are tied to revenues from current mining operations, a slow-down in the industry could delay the clean-up of hundreds of abandoned mines in Pennsylvania.
