Perhaps the most glaring instance of self-bonding gone bad is Peabody Energy. Leading up to its bankruptcy, Peabody had been frantically trying to preserve its $1.47 billion in self-bonding agreements in states where they had been called into question by regulators.

Two other major coal companies, Alpha Natural Resources and Arch Coal, recently filed for bankruptcy, leaving hundreds of millions in reclamation guarantees in limbo. A deal between Arch Coal and regulators in Wyoming suggests taxpayers will get stuck with the bulk of the cleanup costs. The company agreed to earmark at most $75 million to cover self-bonded reclamation liabilities of more than $450 million.

This policy of self-bonding has been a failure. Congress should end it altogether and require all companies to purchase insurance to cover their reclamation costs.

At the same time, many of the communities that depend on the coal industry not only for jobs but also for tax revenue are facing real trouble. In Campbell County in Wyoming, public officials are worried that Arch and Alpha will not make good on $50 million in local taxes due in May. In western New York State, NRG Energy’s closing of its coal-burning Huntley Station power plant in Tonawanda means layoffs, reduced tax revenue and an abandoned site. Community, environmental groups and the area labor federation forged a coalition to address the problems, and the recently passed state budget provides financial relief to schools and local governments that will lose tax revenues. This type of cooperation turns a community facing a loss into one with a plan to build its future. It must be done nationwide with federal support for workers, businesses and communities.

The recent bankruptcies of the nation’s leading coal producers are the latest benchmark in the steady decline of the coal industry. The industry’s problems are also hurting consumers, who are being hit by unnecessarily high electric rates approved by regulators to keep open coal-fired power plants that are no longer competitive with cheaper natural gas and renewables.