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Coal companies are going bankrupt, demand to mine coal on public lands is decreasing, but that isn't stopping the Interior Department from promoting coal mining. On Wednesday, the Bureau of Land Management moved forward with plans to resume coal leasing on public lands, releasing a narrow review of just four leases, saying the move would have no significant environmental impact. “The suggestion that mining more fossil fuels from our nation’s public lands is not significant would be a joke if it weren’t so sad,” said Jenny Harbine with Earthjustice.
The announcement ends a temporary pause on coal leasing that was instituted by the Obama administration while studying how to modernize the outdated federal coal program. Instead of updating coal leasing regulations to increase benefits to taxpayers and decrease environmental impacts, the Trump administration has simply turned back the clock—and faced legal defeats along the way.
Former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke tried to resume coal leasing on public lands in 2017, only to have a judge demand the department consider environmental impacts and try again. Similarly, a federal court struck down the administration's effort to reopen a loophole allowing coal companies to skirt royalty payments owed to taxpayers.
Listen: 10 years of the Conservation in the West poll
Last week, Colorado College's State of the Rockies Project released its 10th annual Conservation in the West Poll, finding that Westerners are increasingly demanding strong conservation and climate policies. To celebrate, the College hosted New Mexico Senator Tom Udall, Montana Governor Steve Bullock, and an expert panel for an on-campus symposium. Listen to highlights from the poll and inspiring keynote addresses in the latest episode of Go West, Young Podcast.
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Am I the only Indigenous person in the room right now? That’s unacceptable.”
