Reclaiming coal

The US’ hidden methane problem

Unregulated, unnoticed coal mines across the US are leaking a potent greenhouse gas with the same greenhouse effect as 13 million cars

US agency calls for ban on controversial coal mine ‘self-bonds’

The nonpartisan Government Accountability Office is urging Congress to make coal mining companies pay for environmental clean-up and reduce the risk to taxpayers

Coal tycoon governor Jim Justice uses loophole to leave mines and workers idle

Companies owned by WV governor exploited a supposedly temporary status to defer environmental clean up and leave miners in limbo, in some cases for decades

What happens to the land after coal mines close?

Across the country, mining land has been reclaimed at low cost, leaving communities with few alternatives to rebuild their economies

Crackdown on coal mine ‘self-bonds’ stalls under Trump

Regulators have almost wiped out risky practice since 2015-16 wave of bankruptcies, but some coal companies still insure themselves

Obama official: Trump cuts will leave coal clean-up agency unable to function

The number of mine site inspections is falling and proposed budget cuts at the federal regulator will further erode oversight, a former top official warns

Why and how we investigated the coal industry’s clean-up funds

The Reclaiming Coal investigation involved six months of crunching data from state and federal agencies, coupled with travel across the country

Reclaiming coal: US mines’ clean-up cash – all our data

All of our data on the US coal industry’s reclamation bonds, compiled nationally and published here for the first time

US coal hasn’t set aside enough money to clean up its mines

Schemes that favour coal companies in Appalachia have left a national shortfall experts said was ‘one of the biggest public failures that has gone under the radar’