Washington, D.C. – The federal Office of Surface Mining's recent announcement that it is awarding Wyoming more than $28 million in abandoned mine lands (AML) reclamation funds is a "good news, bad news proposition," according to U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wyo.

"When someone hands you a check for $28 million it's pretty easy to smile and say ‘thank you,' but in this case it's also a chance to ask ‘where's the rest,'" Enzi said.

The 1977 Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act established reclamation standards for all coal surface mining operations and for the surface effects of underground mining. It established the AML program to promote the reclamation of sites mined and abandoned prior to the laws enactment. Under the law, the secretary of the Interior is required to return back to the state 50 percent of the reclamation fees collected.

"If the law was properly followed, Wyoming's share this year would be closer to $50 million than $28 million," said Enzi. "This is another example of the way federal trust funds operate. There is no money in the fund to pay Wyoming the more than $250 million it is owed. To get the $28 million out we have to put the $28 million in. I have voted in favor of and will continue to work toward putting trust in the way trust funds work."

The $28,659,989 grant this year is also down from last year's $28.8 million amount. Wyoming's unpaid share over the years adds up to hundreds of millions of dollars that are being held in a Washington, D.C. trust fund. The fund is being used as a budget offset for other federal projects.

"It's an uphill battle to get appropriators to give up a funding source for their own projects," said Enzi. "But it's something that is important to the state and I will continue to educate my colleagues on the value to the state and the fairness under the law."