Sometimes coal companies don't complete mine site reclamation as they should. Some bad operators just walk away; some good operators go bankrupt. Operators are supposed to have bonds on their property to cover the cost of completing work, but the bonds may not be enough to complete work on the abandoned sites. When that happens, the Land Restoration Special Reclamation Funds and the Acid Mine Drainage Abatement Fund are to provide the money for finishing the site remediation. However, it appears there may not be enough money in the funds, which are created with the proceeds of a tax on coal, to do all the reclamation that's required. That tax is likely to increase, as the WV Coal Association's leader, Bill Raney, has gone on record as favoring an increase in the tax. That would go a long way toward making the funds more solvent. However, according to Aaron Allred of the Legislative Auditor's Office, there may also be a problem with the bonding program. If the bonds aren't sufficient, or there are defaults on bonds, the state funds will not have enough money to cover all the reclamation.
Ry Rivard of the Daily Mail covers the story here.
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