Subcommittee advances grant program to capture methane from mines with unanimous support

The Senate Commerce and Labor subcommittee unanimously reported a substitute for Senate Bill 3333, a proposal to create a grant program to capture methane emissions from active and abandoned mines and convert a harmful emission into economic value.

Senator Hackworth, presenting the bill, described it as a grant program that "incentivize[s] the capture and sequestration or beneficial use of methane from active and abandoned mines that would otherwise escape into the atmosphere." He said the substitute makes technical amendments and shifts administration of the program from the State Corporation Commission to the Virginia Department of Energy. The sponsor characterized the measure as an instance of industry and environmental groups cooperating on a common goal, and noted it passed the Senate unanimously.

The sponsor emphasized the bill’s potential benefits for Southwest Virginia and described the program as transforming a pollution source into an economic opportunity. After the sponsor’s presentation the committee asked if anyone wished to testify; no additional proponents or opponents took the floor and the clerk recorded the committee’s report out on a roll-call vote of 8–0.

The committee’s action advances the grant program to the next legislative stage; no implementation timeline or appropriation details were specified at the hearing. The substitute text moves administration responsibility to the Virginia Department of Energy and makes several technical and stakeholder-driven clarifications.

The subcommittee recorded the vote as 8–0 to report the substitute.