Biden administration boosts support for Colorado coal community revitalization

The Biden administration will be investing about $10 million this year in rehabilitating former coal communities in Colorado, Secretary of the Interior Deb Halaand announced on Tuesday.

The funding will come from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda and serves to create new job opportunities and catalyze economic growth by reclaiming abandoned mine lands, according to the Interior Department.

“Legacy pollution continues to impact far too many waterways and neighborhoods in rural America,” Haaland said in a statement, following a visit to the Centennial State.

Coal production, according to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE), has long “been central to Colorado’s growth and economy” — with a history extending prior to statehood.

As of early 2019, eight coal-fired electric power generating facilities were operating in the state — until one closed later that year and another was shuttered in 2022.

The remaining six plants, per CDLE, are scheduled to either close or be converted to natural gas between 2023 and 2031.

Gov. Jared Polis (D) signed legislation in 2019 that created the Office of Just Transition, with the aim of facilitating a favorable adjustment for former coal workers.

“Markets are disappearing and they all face uncertain futures,” information from CDLE explains. “The era of coal in Colorado appears to be ending, and that poses serious challenges to the workers and communities that rely on it.”

As of June 2023, coal-fired plants accounted for 32.8 percent of Colorado’s utility scale net electricity generation — in comparison to the U.S. average of 16.2 percent, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

The nearly $10 million announced by the Biden administration on Tuesday adds to about $10 million allocated to Colorado for the same purpose in fiscal year 2022.

Nationwide, the bipartisan infrastructure law provides a total of $16 billion to confront legacy pollution, including $11.3 billion in abandoned mine land funding over 15 years, according to the Interior Department.

Abandoned mine land reclamation funds serve to support local projects that shutter dangerous mine shafts, rehabilitate unstable slopes, improve water quality and restore water supplies hindered by mining, the department explained.

Haaland described the funds on Tuesday as “once-in-a-generation investments to clean up environmental hazards that are harming local communities.”

“Reclaiming and restoring these sites will create jobs, revitalize economic activity, and advance outdoor recreation across the country for the benefit of future generations,” she added.