Ryan Zinke, President Trump’s Interior Secretary, came to Western Pennsylvania to tout the federal government’s abandoned mine cleanup program. It was an appropriate setting.
Zinke came to East Bethlehem Township, Washington County, to announce $300 million in federal funds for abandoned mine lands throughout the country. The town is home to Black Dog Hollow, a 100-foot tall pile of waste coal — basically coal and rock that was discarded by the Clyde Mine, which closed 30 years ago.
Nothing grows on the 45-acre site, which is eroding into nearby streams, and sheds acid runoff when it rains.