The Senate Dems need to put Manchin into line. Discuss. nt

West Virginia will be one of the main beneficiaries of the more than $260 million for coal mine reclamation grants announced Monday by the Interior Department, less than a week after Joe Manchin, the state's senior senator, endorsed President Joe Biden's nominee to run the department, Deb Haaland.

States such as West Virginia and Wyoming that have suffered the most from dramatic declines in coal demand will get most of that money through grants that aim to provide an economic boost to communities that long depended on the mines for their livelihood.

Laura Daniel Davis, Interior's principal deputy assistant secretary for land and minerals management, said in a release that the grants boost local economies while addressing environmental damage.

"The job of cleaning up our lands and waters and revitalizing our communities doesn't end with this round of grant announcements — or the next," Davis said. "We look forward to working with Congress to ensure that we can make the needed investments to clean up abandoned mines, as well as orphan oil and gas wells, across the country."