The Division of Abandoned Mine Lands (AML) has a water supply replacement program. The division extends waterlines into areas where drinking water has been contaminated by past coal mining.
The division budgets up to 30 percent of its annual funding for waterline projects each year. The projects begin with an application for assistance from a local government. The AML division gives the local government funding to study the groundwater quality. The research will help determine if any existing water quality problems are the result of past mining. If past mining caused the problems, the area is eligible for assistance from the AML division. In most cases, groundwater problems have several causes. In these cases, governments usually develop a water supply project using several funding sources; AML pays a portion of the cost based on the mining impacts found in the study.
