Deputy director Mary Cromer released a joint report with the Martin County Concerned Citizens (MCCC) looking at the affordability of drinking water in Martin County, Kentucky. This report was put together to aid in MCCC’s fight to hold public officials accountable and to ensure their community has access to safe, affordable drinking water. ACLC represents the citizens’ group free of charge.

This report highlights the successes of the AML Pilot Program in 2019 from previously submitted projects and showcases a brand new round of innovative project proposals. It was compiled by the Reclaiming Appalachia Coalition, including Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center, Appalachian Voices, Coalfield Development Corporation, Downstream Strategies, and Rural Action. Foundational to our coalition’s work is the understanding that specific, targeted intervention is necessary to ensure that an equitable vision becomes reality.

This report seeks to spur innovative economic development throughout Appalachia in communities where the landscape has been irreparably changed by coal mining. Specifically, the report provides case studies of projects that advance community development amidst abandoned mine lands, or in some cases by reclaiming abandoned mine features as part of the project. It was compiled by the Reclaiming Appalachia Coalition, including Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center, Appalachian Voices, Coalfield Development Corporation, Rural Action, and Downstream Strategies.

This report is the culmination of a year-long participatory research process in collaboration with The Alliance for Appalachia and the AML Policy Priorities Group. The research process was guided by a range of stakeholders, including affected citizens, community members, policy experts, organizers, and government officials. The report found that while great strides have been made in reclaiming America’s abandoned coal mines, it will take at least $9.6 billion to remediate the remaining 6.2 million acres of lands and waters ravaged by AML problems. Many abandoned mines will remain after the current 2021 sunset of the AML program.