Press Releases

Appearing before the House Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies for the panel’s “Member Day”, U.S. Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) testified in support of the Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalization (AMLER) program. 

The Subcommittee is responsible for drafting the Fiscal Year 2026 Interior and Environment Appropriations bill.

Rep. Griffith’s opening testimony can be watched here.

BACKGROUND

Administered by the Virginia Department of Energy, AMLER projects include but are not limited to infrastructure improvements and site redevelopment. Such work may also include cleaning up gob piles and taking down high walls to make the area safe and developable.

As the leading advocate in Virginia for the AMLER program, Rep. Griffith was instrumental in ensuring the inclusion of the Commonwealth in the Abandoned Mine Land (AML) pilot program. Since then, Southwest Virginia has been able to obtain tens of millions of federal dollars.

Last year, Rep. Griffith successfully added an amendment to the Interior Appropriations bill to make the AMLER program run more effectively.

In 2024, AMLER awarded $10 million to projects in deep Southwest Virginia.

Rep. Griffith celebrated recent AMLER projects by attending ribbon-cutting events for Big Cherry Lake in Wise County and Devil’s Bathtub in Scott County.

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