The fee expires in 2004. States receive grants from the reclamation fund based on a formula which considers state contributions to the fund, as well as historical coal production. Funding for grants has been made through annual appropriations. Without sufficient and predictable funding over the remaining life of the programs, states cannot adequately prevent deaths and injuries from taking place in abandoned mines or reclaim abandoned mine lands to productive uses. Unattended AML sites tend to get worse over time increasing reclamation costs.
Inflation also increases reclamation costs as projects are delayed.
The longer reclamation is postponed, the less reclamation will be accomplished. In a more competitive electric power industry, competition among fuels used to generate electricity will increase. An extension of the existing fee on coal for AML restoration will be difficult to sustain in a competitive market. This should be accomplished by a one-time appropriation of the unexpended balance in the AMR Trust Fund and Trust receipts by the fund. The Office of Surface Mining would continue to audit state expenditures from the fund.