Environmental groups sue federal mining agency over West Virginia mine cleanup process

The Sierra Club and two local environmental groups have filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration, alleging that the Interior Department’s Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) has been derelict in handling mine cleanup in West Virginia.

In the lawsuit, filed Monday in the Southern District of West Virginia, the Sierra Club, Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition and West Virginia Highlands Conservancy accused OSMRE of failing to satisfy requirements of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA). The provision of the law in question requires a determination on whether surface mining programs in the state must be improved.

The same plaintiffs in 2020 filed a separate lawsuit over the issue, which led the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection to notify the Interior Department that its current mine reclamation bonding program was insolvent, according to the Sierra Club.

“Because  the  current  West  Virginia  Special  Reclamation  Fund  is  not  able  to  ensure  that  sufficient money will be available to complete land and water reclamation on all existing and future bond forfeiture sites, in accordance with the requirements of 30 C.F.R. § 800.11(e), and the Special Reclamation Fund Advisory Council refuses to meet in its responsibility to oversee such fund, the Defendant must determine that a state program amendment is necessary,” the lawsuit states.

The plaintiffs seek a declaration that OSMRE has violated the SMCRA and an injunction ordering it to comply.

“It’s unfortunate that this lawsuit even needs to be filed. The response from OSMRE last year, following our suit compelling WVDEP to notify the federal agency of the dire financial situation of its reclamation programs, failed to meet the moment,” Peter Morgan, a senior attorney with the Sierra Club’s Environmental Law Program, said in a statement. “Hopefully, under the Biden administration, OSMRE will be up to the challenge of requiring adequate and reliable reclamation funding not just in West Virginia but around the country.”

The Hill has reached out to the Interior Department for comment.