On January 24, 2000, the United States House of Representatives Resources Committee conducted a field hearing at the University of Scranton to assess existing federal programs to reclaim abandoned mine land in the anthracite region of Northeastern Pennsylvania and to explore new proposals to enhance land and water reclamation efforts.

Testifying before the House Resource Committee were federal, state and, local leaders, including Congressman Paul E. Kanjorski and Congressman Tim Holden, representatives from the Office of Surface Mining, EPA, and DEP, as well as Alex Rogers (the American Heritage Rivers Steering Committee).

Other witnesses included Andy Skirp (Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce), Kenneth Klemow (Professor of Biology and GeoEnvironmental Science, Wilkes University), Bernard McGurl (Executive Director of Lackawanna River Corridor Association), Robert Hughes (Eastern PA Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation), and David Donlin (Executive Director of Schuylkill County Chamber of Commerce).

Alex Rogers, River Navigator for the Upper Susquehanna-Lackawanna Watershed, Testifies before the Congressional Committee on House Resources

At the January 24, 2000 Hearing of the U.S. House of Representatives Resources Committee, Alex Rogers testified on behalf of the American Heritage Rivers Steering Committee. Rogers said that "repairing our land and water from the devastating effects of unregulated coal mining" is a critical challenge that must be confronted in order to "elevate the region to new levels of environmental quality and economic prosperity."

Rogers explained that existing federal land reclamation programs constitute "only a small down payment" because the federal government invests less than $10 million per year to repair the anthracite region's mine-scarred land. Rogers said that the huge black mountains of coal waste and slate - known as culm piles - "are the unfortunate tombstones to the anthracite mining industry" and "are the barriers that stand between today's environmental difficulties and tomorrow's healthier and more robust Northeastern Pennsylvania."

Rogers informed the Committee that the American Heritage Rivers Initiative has inspired a broad coalition of local political, business, academic, and environmental leaders to create an environmental and economic renaissance for the region. Rogers also described the GIS Environmental Master Plan for the Upper Susquehanna-Lackawanna as a critical component of this effort. The GIS Master Plan will contain extensive data about the region's environmental features, topography, and infrastructure. It will inform smart, regional planning - and serve as a blueprint for numerous economic development and environmental remediation projects.

Rogers also strongly endorsed Congressman Kanjorski's innovative federal tax-credit bond proposal to fund the environmental and economic development projects in the region. Under this proposal, a public authority incorporated pursuant to state law could issue bonds that would offer purchasers a federal tax credit based on the current market yield on 30-year, tax-exempt debt obligations. At the outset, the authority would be required to invest 18-20 percent of the bond proceeds into a reserve or sinking fund that would increase in value over the 30-year period of the bond issue in order to pay the bonds at maturity. Meanwhile, the remaining 80 percent of the bond proceeds would be devoted to the environmental and economic development projects outlined in a comprehensive regional plan. As for the purchasers of the bonds, in lieu of annual interest payments, they would be entitled to a federal tax credit equal to the value of their bonds multiplied by the long-term municipal bond rate. This funding proposal would result in only a minimal loss of federal tax revenues, while generating significant sums to fund environmental and economic development projects.

Lawmakers Get a Firsthand Look at Abandoned Mine Land

In addition to conducting a field hearing in Scranton, Members of the House Resources Committee, Alex Rogers, and others took a helicopter tour of the mine-scarred land in Northeastern Pennsylvania. The tour was intended to educate the Committee about the severity of the abandoned mine land and acid mine drainage problems. The Pennsylvania National Guard conducted the tour.