U.S. moves to end federal coal leases in Powder River Basin

The Biden administration proposed an end to new coal leasing on federal land in the nation’s largest coal producing region, a move aimed at curtailing greenhouse gas emissions when it’s burned at power plants.  

The decision by the federal Bureau of Land Management would impact the Powder River Basin in Wyoming and Montana. It comes in response to a 2022 federal court order directing the BLM to research the effects of two land management plans in the region on public health and climate change after it found such impacts were previously not given enough consideration. 

The proposal would not impact existing federal leases in the region and the agency specifically noted coal production is expected to continue at mines in Montana and Wyoming until 2060 and 2041 respectively. 

The plan will enter a 30-day public protest period before officially approved. 

The move was met with swift pushback from the right, including from Wyoming’s entire congressional delegation, which blasted the proposal almost immediately after its unveiling.  

“President Biden continues to wage war on Wyoming’s coal communities and families,” Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., said in a statement. “This will kill jobs and could cost Wyoming hundreds of millions of dollars used to pay for public schools, roads, and other essential services in our communities.”

“This decision to eviscerate Wyoming’s coal production will impact every American’s access to affordable and reliable energy, and only benefits the despots and dictators that this administration now relies on to meet our energy needs, while further weakening our economy and national security,” Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo., said in a statement. 

Environmental groups celebrated the decision and declared it a victory. 

“For decades, mining has affected public health, our local land, air, and water, and the global climate. We look forward to BLM working with state and local partners to ensure a just economic transition for the Powder River Basin as we move toward a clean energy future,” Lynne Huskinson, retired coal miner and board member of Powder River Basin Resource Council and Western Organization of Resource Councils said in a press release. 

The BLM noted that production of coal in the area has been on the decline, noting the active mines in Wyoming produced approximately 220 million short tons of federal coal in 2022 compared to 400 million in 2008. The mines in the Miles City planning area in Montana produced 18.5 million short tons of coal in 2022, down from 28 million in 2007.