More than 234 square miles remain unreclaimed in the West after five decades of mining More than a third of all land mined for coal in the Western United States awaits cleanup after a half-century of intensive strip-mining, but a weakening coal industry may be incapable of cleaning it up says a report released today […]
Posts Categorized: News
2019 Ad Valorem Mineral Tax Delinquency Update
Powder River Basin Resource Council has been tracking ad valorem mineral production tax (ad valorem tax) debts in 13 Wyoming counties since 2017. This year, the Wyoming County Commissioners Association (WCCA) joined our efforts and collected data from all Wyoming counties. We applaud the Select Committee on Coal/Mineral Bankruptcies for putting forth well thought-out proposals […]
Powder River & WORC Statement in Response to Cloud Peak’s Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Plan
Today in a Delaware bankruptcy court, a federal judge approved Cloud Peak Energy’s plan to get out of bankruptcy. A critical part of the plan is the sale of mines and other property to the Navajo Transitional Energy Company (NTEC), a company wholly owned by the Navajo Nation. In response to the bankruptcy court decision, […]
Powder River Statement on Decision Overturning EQC Decision
“We are disappointed in this decision, and are reviewing our options. Time has not stood still, and in the two years since the Environmental Quality Council and Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality’s decision regarding the deficient coal mine permit, the process has been moving forward with further rounds of review. And in these two years, […]
Wyoming’s Economic Future is Topic of Powder River Annual Meeting
47th Annual Meeting Scheduled for Nov. 2nd in Sheridan On Saturday, Nov. 2, Powder River Basin Resource Council will host its 47th Annual Meeting at the Holiday Inn in Sheridan. This year’s theme, When Coal is No Longer King: A Conversation on Wyoming’s Future, will explore how the state’s economy must change as the coal […]
Sheridan County Wyoming Public Lands Day Celebration on Sept 28th
Local Conservation Groups Host Event at Welch Ranch Conservation groups in Sheridan County are hosting a Sheridan County Public Lands Day Celebration on Saturday, September 28th, at the Bureau of Land Management’s Welch Ranch Special Management Area on Decker Road. The groups welcome the public to attend the event which starts with trail cleanup at […]
Powder River Files Complaint Alleging Contura Mine Violations
August 28, 2019 This week Powder River Basin Resource Council (Resource Council) filed a citizen complaint with the federal Office of Surface Mining and Reclamation Enforcement (OSMRE) and the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) regarding mine violations at the Belle Ayr and Eagle Butte coal mines, which have been shut down since Blackjewel filed […]
Court Rules in Favor of Powder River Basin Resource Council; Requires DEQ Release of Appraisal
August 22, 2019 In a precedent-setting Public Records Act case, a Wyoming District Court judge has ruled in favor of Powder River Basin Resource Council (Resource Council), ordering the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to release land appraisal documents directly related to Contura Coal West’s bond renewal for the Belle Ayr coal mine […]
Conservation Groups Seek to Join Wyoming Suit Over Coal, Oil, Gas Revenue
July 26, 2019 The groups’ motion to intervene can be found online here . Groups aim to ensure companies pay a fair return for taxpayer-owned minerals Five conservation groups moved today to intervene in a lawsuit to preserve the 2016 Valuation Rule, a set of federal requirements requiring fossil fuel companies to pay full royalties […]
Powder River Statement on Contura Bid for Blackjewel Mines
July 25, 2019 “On one hand we are relieved that Contura Coal West will remain on the hook and the responsible party for the Eagle Butte and Belle Ayr mines, but on the other hand, there are still significantly large concerns. The state of Wyoming and the Department of Interior should demand that Contura pay […]
