CHARLESTON, WV – The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection’s (WVDEP) Office of Abandoned Mine Lands and Reclamation (AML) is taking applications for a portion of $25 million in grant funding available for economic development projects.

The federal funding is administered by the AML Pilot Program and projects must be located on or adjacent to mine sites that ceased operations prior to the signing of the Surface Mine Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) on Aug. 3, 1977. A map of known AML sites in West Virginia can be found here.

Since 2016, the AML Pilot Program has committed $130 million in grant funding to assist projects all across the West Virginia coalfields.

The WVDEP is ultimately responsible for determining which projects receive funding and works with an advisory committee comprised of representatives from the West Virginia Department of Commerce, the West Virginia Department of Transportation, as well as the Governor’s Office.

As the grant funding is provided by the federal government, all projects must also be approved by the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation, and Enforcement (OSMRE).

The 2020 grant application, application tips and guidelines, and other helpful resources are available on the AML Pilot Program webpage: https://dep.wv.gov/dlr/aml/Pages/AML-Pilot-Program.aspx. Completed applications are due July 31, 2021.