WASHINGTON - The Bush administration may define the word "payment" in such a way as to prevent Wyoming from directly receiving millions of dollars in the next year from the Abandoned Mine Land fund as Congress intended.

Congress instructed last year that states receive long-owed payments from the AML fund, including $550 million for Wyoming and $55 million for Montana. Instead, federal agencies are considering doling out the money through grants that require application.

Rep. Barbara Cubin, R-Wyo., who helped pass last year's AML measure, condemned the possible move.

"Here we go again," Cubin said in a statement. "These rumors represent yet another attempt by the federal government to play political games with the AML money that is owed to states. This is unacceptable."

The AML program, established 30 years ago, imposed a fee on coal production, with 50 percent of the money to be returned to states for use in reclaiming abandoned mines and related environmental concerns. But much of the states' share of the fee was never returned to the states.

After years of negotiations, Congress finally approved a compromise last fall that directed the federal government to make the payments. The federal Office of Surface Mining was to pay the balance owed to certified states in seven equal payments in fiscal year 2008. State legislatures were to determine how the funds would be used, with priority given to addressing the impacts of mineral development.

Wyoming was to receive an initial $550 million and a total of $1.6 billion over the next 15 years. Montana is currently owed $54.6 million and expects to receive $142.3 million from 2007 to 2025.

The Office of Surface Mining will come out with a rule in September on how to distribute the money, before fiscal year 2008 begins on Oct. 1. It may require states to request grants for specific projects rather than receive a lump sum.

"Congress was extremely clear in the bill we passed last year as to how this funding must be distributed, and I will not rest until Wyoming receives the AML money it is rightfully due," Cubin said. "The days of Wyoming being shortchanged by the AML program are over. I am confident that the problem the Wyoming Legislature will soon be facing is how best to allocate in years to come the $1.6 billion we secured for Wyoming."

Because of the issue, Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., is opposing the nomination of Brent Wahlquist as director of surface mining reclamation and enforcement at the Department of Interior. Barrasso asked Wahlquist for assurance the money would come but said his responses "did little to alleviate" the concerns.

Barrasso submitted written questions to Wahlquist, including, "Do you believe the certified states' distributions are to be considered payments or grants?"

In response, Wahlquist wrote that in discussions with its solicitor's office, OSM is "analyzing whether the use of the term 'payment"' in the measure Congress passed "mandates or authorizes a distribution mechanism other than grants."

Barrasso said the administration is considering AML rules "contrary to the intent of Congress and quite frankly contrary to the law."

An Interior Department official met with Barrasso's legislative director on Friday to talk about the issue, but they did not reach any conclusions. The senator plans to meet with Wahlquist.

Ben Owens, OSM press secretary, said no decisions have been made. He said several major changes to the AML program were passed by Congress and that the agency is still determining how the whole system will work.

"The lawyers are still going through the amendment that was passed last year," Owens said. "There were many changes made under the law, and we're still in the process of going through and determining how it's going to work. At this point it would be premature for me to address that."

John Corra, director of the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality, testified before Congress about the issue this week.

"From Wyoming's perspective, the OSM appears to be using old tools to implement the requirements of the new act, primarily in the form of the existing grant process, to manage and distribute fee collections," Corra testified. "The amendments specifically state otherwise."

The traditional administrative process requires states to apply for and the OSM to approve projects and grants, he said.

Earlier this year, the Wyoming Legislature passed a law creating an AML funds reserve account, he noted. The federal payments would flow into that account and remain there until appropriated by the Legislature.

Marion Loomis, executive director of the Wyoming Mining Association, also testified about it.

"We are … somewhat concerned that OSM seems to believe that the money will only be released when projects are identified," he testified. "Our understanding of the act that you passed last year requires that the back balance be paid in equal installments. The Wyoming Legislature passed legislation this year to hold the back payments until the Legislature decides how to allocate those monies. It is our hope that the back payments would come to the state without any strings attached."