** Wyoming's coal mine cleanup problem
------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, January 28, 2020
Coal mining in Wyoming, Bureau of Land Management ([link removed])
Wyoming's least stable coal companies have the largest proportion of unreclaimed mine land, a report finds ([link removed]) . Mine reclamation is the process of cleaning up the land used for mining and restoring it to "equal or better" use. Currently, about 45% of land used for coal mining in Wyoming is unreclaimed, and the two companies with the most unreclaimed land are Cloud Peak Energy and Blackjewel, which went through bankruptcy proceedings last year. Both companies are leaving over half of their land unreclaimed.
Experts point to the declining financial health of the coal industry as one of the causes. Reclamation costs are paid for with the revenue from coal, and as that revenue declines, the areas of unreclaimed land grow. The bankruptcy of Cloud Peak Energy and Blackjewel signaled a downturn for Wyoming's coal industry, but regulations have not changed to account for the increased risk. As companies are unable or unwilling to clean up their land, the cost will either be pushed onto the taxpayers or the mines will remain unreclaimed.
** BLM employees seek to unionize
------------------------------------------------------------
As the Trump administration moves forward with plans to relocate Washington, D.C.-based employees out West, Bureau of Land Management employees are working towards unionizing ([link removed]) . A petition to represent 160 employees has been filed, and the BLM has until the end of January to respond.
Quick hits
** The road to the Green New Deal lies through the Department of the Interior
------------------------------------------------------------
The Nation ([link removed])
** The Trump administration is forcing these workers out West, and now they want to unionize
------------------------------------------------------------
Washington Post ([link removed])
** Lawmakers ask Forest Service to reverse decision on Idaho gold mine
------------------------------------------------------------
Associated Press ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed])
** Shakiest coal companies have most mine cleanup left
------------------------------------------------------------
Wyoming News Exchange ([link removed])
** Inside the Bureau of Land Management's new headquarters
------------------------------------------------------------
E&E News ([link removed])
** BLM seeks to pinpoint public land that lacks access
------------------------------------------------------------
Associated Press ([link removed])
** New bill would block transfers of Colorado River water from rural areas to growing cities
------------------------------------------------------------
Arizona Republic ([link removed])
** BLM plans to weaken grazing regulations on public land
------------------------------------------------------------
KUER ([link removed])
Quote of the day
Access is imperative but it’s not everything. Access to a degraded landscape is not what we should be passing down to future generations.”
—Tracy Stone-Manning, National Wildlife Federation, Associated Press ([link removed])
Picture this
** @LaikenJordahl ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
BREAKING: today @DHSgov ([link removed]) bulldozed a massive swath of desert near Quitobaquito Springs in Organ Pipe. This comes just weeks after @RepRaulGrijalva ([link removed]) & the O'odham Tribal Chairman called for a cessation of all "ground disturbing activities" near this sacred site.
============================================================
** Twitter ([link removed])
** Facebook ([link removed])
** Medium ([link removed])
Copyright © 2020 Center for Western Priorities, All rights reserved.
You've signed up to receive Look West updates.
Center for Western Priorities
820 16th Street
Suite 450
Denver, CO 80202
USA
** View this on the web ([link removed])
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can ** update your preferences ([link removed])
or ** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])
