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- Restore forests. To maximize the resilience of land and water resources to protect communities and the environment, this President’s plan invests in USDA resilient forest restoration projects in the west for thinning, prescribed fire, and reforestation efforts.
- Enable farmers to protect against drought. To defend communities vulnerable to drought and support their recovery from disaster, the President’s plan invests in drought resilience technology for agricultural producers.
- Plug orphan wells and clean up abandoned mines. Hundreds of thousands of former orphan oil and gas wells and abandoned mines pose serious safety hazards while also causing ongoing air and water contamination and other environmental damage. Many of these old wells and mines are located in rural communities that have suffered from years of disinvestment. President Biden’s plan includes an immediate up-front investment that will put 250,000 people to work in union jobs plugging oil and gas wells and restoring and reclaiming abandoned coal, hardrock, and uranium mines.
- Build next-generation industries in distressed communities. President Biden believes that the market-based shift towards clean energy presents enormous opportunities for the development of new markets and new industries. For example, by pairing an investment in 15 hydrogen demonstration projects in distressed communities with a new production tax credit, we can spur capital-project retrofits and installation that bolster and decarbonize our industry. His plan will also establish 10 pioneer facilities that demonstrate carbon capture retrofits for large steel, cement, and chemical production, in addition to large-scale sequestration efforts in line with the bipartisan SCALE Act and enhancements to the 45Q tax credit.
- Transition rural co-ops to clean energy. As part of a nationwide plan to modernize our power infrastructure, the President’s proposal will invest $10 billion to partner with rural electric cooperatives that are eager to benefit from low-cost clean energy, by retiring expensive and polluting power plants and replacing them with modern systems – improving public health and supporting good jobs at the same time.
