Michael Rotellini
Wyoming will soon be seeing an inflow of cash thanks to the abandoned mine lands (AML) funding as part of the federal highway bill.
The federal highway bill will bring in money for the highways, but more importantly also restore the AML funding owed to the state years ago, David Bush, communications director for Governor Mead, said.
“Roughly $24 million comes to Wyoming in highway funds. The state will receive approximately $241 million in AML funds now and roughly $350 million in future years,” Bush said. “The Congress placed a cap of $15 million per year on Wyoming’s AML funds a few years ago, and this bill not only restores the money owed to the state but also removes that cap for future years.”
The money that comes from AML funding will have a few conditional steps that will be used when allocating the money. It is broken up into two types of funds – reclamation funds and prior balance funds.
The reclamation funds can only be used for reclamation funds, and the state has a process through the state DEQ and a list they work down. The other is a prior balance fund that will be appropriated by the state legislature, Representative Steve Harshman, R-Natrona, co-chair for the House appropriations committee, said.
“We have always used these funds for one time infrastructure type projects at UW, Highways, water projects, etc.,” Harshman said.
The abandoned mines land program is a program established by the Bureau of Land Management aimed at enhancing public safety and improving water quality by reducing or eliminating the effects of past hard rock mining in the western United States. The AML program exists by a tax collected on every ton of coal produced.
“The AML program is part of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA) which imposes a tax on every ton of coal mined in the country,” Bush said. “Since Wyoming is the top coal producing state in the country we pay the majority of the tax.”
Not only will money be coming into the state thanks to the AML program but it also will help the Wyoming Department of Transportation, or WYDOT, and the federal highway system in Wyoming.
Estimates indicate Wyoming will receive $271 million annually through 2020 in highway program apportionments. By comparison, Wyoming is receiving $247 million this year. This increase will help preserve what WYDOT has invested in the highway system and provide a safety benefit, Bruce Burrows, public affairs specialist for WYDOT, said.
“The funding from the federal highway bill that flows to Wyoming will be used to address highway, transit and other transportation-related needs,” Burrows said. “A majority of WYDOT’s budget and efforts go toward planning, building and maintaining the 6,800 miles of highway that connect Wyoming’s communities and surrounding states.”
Most of the actual work performed on the system is conducted by private construction companies working under contracts issued by WYDOT.
The federal highway bill has passed both the House and Senate and was signed into law by President Obama Friday.
