Peabody Energy Corp. is shuttering a Southern Illinois coal mine that has been plagued by safety and productivity issues over the past two years. About 400 employees will lose their jobs.

Under SMCRA, miners have paid reclamation fees since 1977, money that feeds into the federal government’s Abandoned Mine Lands fund to clean up abandoned coal mines.

Updated: Dec 5, 2024 / 10:38 AM CST BELLEVILLE, Ill. (KTVI) – About 330,000 homes in Illinois sit on top of old abandoned mines. And some say their homes are sinking because of it.