A large part of the OSM mission is carried out through grants to States and Tribes. The Regulation and Technology program provides grants to 24 primacy States and operates direct programs with three additional States and three Indian Tribes. Since 1977, approximately 79,000 acres of damaged lands have been funded or reclaimed. Over 50,000 acres of high priority problems and an additional 120,000 acres of known lower priority environmental problems remain unreclaimed. One of the most challenging problems OSM faces is acid mine drainage.
Acid drainage is water containing acidity, iron, manganese, aluminum, and other metals.
In sufficient quantity, iron hydroxide and sulfuric acid, a result of chemical and biological reactions, may eventually contaminate surface and ground water. In some parts of Appalachia, acid drainage flowing from abandoned coal mines has caused pollution so severe that plant and animal life in many streams cannot survive. The Environmental Protection Agency has singled out acid drainage from abandoned coal mines as the number one water quality problem in Appalachia. Many of these problems are the result of coal production that helped build America's strong industrial base and fueled our war efforts during World Wars I and II, many years ago. Although stream pollution from acid drainage has been recognized as a major problem in the eastern United States for decades, the Appalachian Clean Streams Initiative, introduced in 1994, is the first coordinated effort with a primary focus of eliminating acid drainage.