Revitalizing Coal Country in Ehrenfeld, Pennsylvania

On August 4, 2016, Secretary Jewell visited Ehrenfeld, Pennsylvania to break ground on a reclamation project at the site of a former coal mine. The project, funded by the Adandoned Mine Lands Economic Revitalization Pilot Program, distributes funding across Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Kentucky to eliminate safety hazards and air and stream pollution from previously abandoned coal mines. The Ehrenfeld Abandoned Mine Reclamation Project is the first of many similar reclamation initiatives with direct economic development benefits that will be carried out in the states under the AMLER Pilot Program.

  • Secretary Jewell speaks with officials from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection

    Secretary Jewell walks with local leaders in Ehrenfeld, Pa. and discusses the implementation of the Abandoned Mine Lands Economic Revitalization Pilot Program. The initiative is part of President Obama’s POWER+ Plan, which has spread $90 million for coal mine reclamation work across Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Kentucky.

    Secretary Jewell speaks with officials from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection

    Secretary Jewell walks with local leaders in Ehrenfeld, Pa. and discusses the implementation of the Abandoned Mine Lands Economic Revitalization Pilot Program. The initiative is part of President Obama’s POWER+ Plan, which has spread $90 million for coal mine reclamation work across Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Kentucky.

  • Secretary Jewell operates an excavator with a former Rosebud Mining Co. worker

    Secretary Jewell uses a bulldozer to aid reclamation efforts at the coal mine in Ehrenfeld. The project, which began in June, is removing 2.4 million yards of coal waste that was left behind from the underground coal mine operations that lasted from 1903 to 1971.

    Secretary Jewell operates an excavator with a former Rosebud Mining Co. worker

    Secretary Jewell uses a bulldozer to aid reclamation efforts at the coal mine in Ehrenfeld. The project, which began in June, is removing 2.4 million yards of coal waste that was left behind from the underground coal mine operations that lasted from 1903 to 1971.

  • The landscape around the former coal mine in Ehrenfeld, Pennsylvania

    The landscape around the former coal mine in Ehrenfeld, Pennsylvania. Interior Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management Janice Schneider noted, “This [project] is just a preview of what can be done with a larger program to help people in coal country during these economically trying times.”

    The landscape around the former coal mine in Ehrenfeld, Pennsylvania

    The landscape around the former coal mine in Ehrenfeld, PA. “This [project] is just a preview of what can be done with a larger program to help people in coal country during these economically trying times," said Interior Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management Janice Schneider.

  • Secretary Jewell speaks with former Rosebud Mining Co. workers who are now working on the reclamation project

    Secretary Jewell speaks with former miners who are now working on the reclamation project. “They’re taking mine waste that has accumulated in the town of Ehrenfeld, moving it into an abandoned mine site and treating it with alkaline so it doesn’t have acid mine runoff. They’re making the community of Ehrenfeld better and taking care of a mine site that needs to be filled in,” said Secretary Jewell. This process will help eliminate air and stream pollution from the region.

    Secretary Jewell speaks with former Rosebud Mining Co. workers who are now working on the reclamation project

    Secretary Jewell speaks with former miners who are now working on the reclamation project. “They’re taking mine waste that has accumulated in the town of Ehrenfeld, moving it into an abandoned mine site and treating it with alkaline so it doesn’t have acid mine runoff. They’re making the community of Ehrenfeld better and taking care of a mine site that needs to be filled in,” said Secretary Jewell. This process will help eliminate air and stream pollution from the region.

  • Secretary Jewell speaks with Ehrenfeld officials and citizens.

    “This money is part of the $30 million that Congress provided as part of a pilot project to test out our theory that putting people to work reclaiming these abandoned minelands can create opportunities for workers today but also create opportunities in the future for communities that have burdened by these abandoned mine land for decades,” said Joe Pizarchik, Director of Office of Surface Mining and Reclamation Enforcement.

    Secretary Jewell speaks with Ehrenfeld officials and citizens.

    “This money is part of the $30 million that Congress provided as part of a pilot project to test out our theory that putting people to work reclaiming these abandoned minelands can create opportunities for workers today but also create opportunities in the future for communities that have been burdened by these abandoned mine lands for decades,” said Joe Pizarchik, Director of Office of Surface Mining and Reclamation Enforcement, in a video posted on Interior's Flickr page.

  • Secretary Jewell joins Ehrenfeld and Pennsylvania leaders in a ceremonial ground-breaking on the project

    Secretary Jewell joins Ehrenfeld and Pennsylvania leaders in a ceremonial ground-breaking on the project. “While there are no silver bullets for solving the environmental and economic difficulties in Appalachia or other struggling coal regions in the United States, we have a moral commitment to assist hardworking and increasingly hard-pressed coal country residents in transitioning to a more sustainable economic future,” said Secretary Jewell.

    Secretary Jewell joins Ehrenfeld and Pennsylvania leaders in a ceremonial ground-breaking on the project

    Secretary Jewell joins Ehrenfeld and Pennsylvania leaders in a ceremonial ground-breaking on the project. “While there are no silver bullets for solving the environmental and economic difficulties in Appalachia or other struggling coal regions in the United States, we have a moral commitment to assist hardworking and increasingly hard-pressed coal country residents in transitioning to a more sustainable economic future,” said Secretary Jewell.