Buffalo Wyoming BLM to End Coal Leasing in Powder River Basin
This morning, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced that it will end federal coal leasing in the Powder River Basin – the largest coal-producing region in the United States. The decision represents a historic shift in federal management of coal in the region, recognizing the environmental and health impacts on coalfield communities and acknowledging […]
Powder River Basin Resource Council Statement new EPA Power Plant Rules
“While we appreciate the Environmental Protection Agency’s attempts to curb pollution from power plants, we believe they are on the wrong track by encouraging further subsidies and investments in carbon capture (CCS) technology. Carbon capture on coal-fired power plants has proven to be expensive to install and has fallen short in reaching its goals. “There […]
Court rejects Wyoming, industry challenge to postponement of oil, gas lease sales
A federal judge in Wyoming affirmed the Biden administration’s decisions to postpone oil and gas lease sales in early 2021, holding that the federal government has broad authority to postpone sales to address environmental concerns. In his ruling Friday, U.S. District Judge Scott Skavdahl rejected arguments by industry and Wyoming and found that the Bureau […]
Federal court cites human health, climate costs in rejecting coal mining plan
A federal judge late yesterday struck down two U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) resource management plans that failed to address the public health consequences of allowing massive amounts of coal, oil, and gas production from public lands and minerals in the Powder River Basin, including approximately 6 billion tons of low-grade, highly polluting coal […]
Powder River Statement on Federal Oil & Gas Leasing Reform Announcement
“We appreciate Interior’s efforts to adjust the federal oil and gas leasing program, as reflected in their recent announcement of resumed lease sales. The agency, in light of the recent rapid rise in oil prices, is finally beginning to modernize policies of great importance to our economic and social future. It’s high time to halt […]
Conservation Organizations’ Statement on EPA’s Decision on Jim Bridger Coal Plant
Powder River Basin Resource Council, National Parks Conservation Association, and Sierra Club welcomed a decision from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposing to deny a change to a long-standing pollution control plan for the Jim Bridger coal plant in Wyoming. Wyoming and the utility that operates the plant, PacifiCorp (or, Wyoming-based Rocky Mountain Power), […]
BLM’s Coal Program Review Lacks Solutions
In response to the BLM’s comment summary report on the federal coal program review released in late December, western grassroots organizations voice the need for prompt and long overdue action to improve the process of federal coal leasing and mining beyond just the acknowledgement of a broken system. Bob LeResche, a Board Member of Powder […]
National Coal Council Under Intense Scrutiny
Western Grassroots Groups Urge Termination or Restructuring of DOE Advisory Group A letter from members of the Western Organization of Resource Councils (WORC) details a highly inappropriate relationship between the National Coal Council, a federal advisory committee, and its corporate alter ego, National Coal Council, Inc. WORC urges Secretary of Energy, Jennifer Granholm to scrutinize and […]
Westerners support reforming broken leasing system for federal coal, oil and gas
President Biden today signed several executive orders, including a pause on further leasing of oil and gas by the federal government, and a review of all existing leasing and permitting practices related to fossil fuel development on public lands. Federal mineral leasing programs have been repeatedly criticized by government watchdogs for wasting public resources. Additionally, […]
Powder River Breaks September – October 2020
September – October 2020, Volume 48, Number 5 They’re baaccck! That’s right, Aethon Energy is back before the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (WOGCC) trying again to get approval for their previously rejected proposal to inject 20,000 barrels per day of polluted oil and gas wastewater from the Moneta Divide field into the Madison […]
