More than 37,000 Sierra Club members and supporters submitted comments to the Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation, and Enforcement (OSMRE) on Wednesday, calling on the Department of the Interior (DOI) to end the practice of self-bonding — the dangerous loophole used by large coal companies that allows them to forgo purchasing reliable, third-party insurance to cover the cost of cleaning up (also known as reclaiming) their mines in the event that they go out of business. When self-bonded coal companies go out of business, working families and honest taxpayers are left holding the bill for cleaning up their uninsured mining sites. OSMRE had asked for all comments to be submitted by July 20.
“Today we are sending a loud and clear message to government regulators – self-bonding by coal companies needs to stop,” said Mary Anne Hitt, Director of Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign. “Over the past 3 decades, coal companies have been playing fast and loose with our public lands and our communities’ pocket books by creating enormous clean-up liabilities without providing any assurance that the money will be there to finish the job of reclamation. OSMRE and DOI must protect our communities from this irresponsible loophole and immediately issue guidance to stop the use of self-bonding by coal companies.”
Given the severely weakened coal market and wave of coal company bankruptcies, Sierra Club is calling on OSMRE to immediately issue a new guidance that no new self-bonds should be issued to any coal company and make clear that bankrupt mine operators must not self-bond as they emerge from bankruptcy. In addition to the more than 37,000 comments from its members and supporters, Sierra Club submitted technical comments laying out in detail the severity of the current self-bonding crisis, and the steps OSMRE must take to address the problem.
Sierra Club and several partners have also launched a media campaign this week. On Monday, Sierra Club and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) launched their sponsorship of The Hill’s Overnight Energy newsletter, which directs readers to a petition to stop the practice of self-bonding. On Tuesday, Sierra Club, NRDC, and the Western Organization of Resource Councils (WORC) hosted a media teleconference, which featured expert panelists and a Wyoming rancher personally impacted by unreclaimed self-bonded mining sites. On Wednesday morning, Sierra Club volunteers unveiled a check for $3.86 billion outside of OSMRE’s headquarters, reminding administrators of the enormous amount in self-bonded coal liabilities still withstanding across America.
Leaving these mines unreclaimed is a pressing issue, since coal mines are highly polluting and allowing the sites to remain disturbed poses serious health risks to surrounding communities. They also pose an economic threat, since unreclaimed mines make it difficult for communities to attract and support other forms of economic development, which is urgently needed in coal country.
“We’re committed to making sure local families are protected from irresponsible coal executives who are threatening to leave behind dangerous, polluting mine sites that will plague communities for generations to come,” Hitt said. “Self-bonding is about simple fairness, after all: if you destroy the land, you clean it up. You don’t walk away and leave it to your neighbor.”
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