“When Coal is No Longer King” Panel Discussion

Watch the panel discussion, When Coal is No Longer King from Powder River’s 47th Annual Meeting on November 2, 2019. This year’s theme explored how the state’s economy must change as the coal industry shrinks. Panelists Denise Parrish, Deputy Administrator of the Wyoming Office of Consumer Advocate; Robin Cooley, Director of the Department of Workforce Services, […]

Powder River’s 2019 Annual Report

This is Powder River Basin Resource Council’s 2019 Annual Report. To read the full report, please download the PDF.

Powder River Breaks September – October 2019

September – October 2019, Volume 47, Number 5 On Saturday, Nov. 2, Powder River 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 industry shrinks. Denise Parrish, […]

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 […]

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 […]

Powder River Breaks July – August 2019

July – August 2019, Volume 47, Number 4 Early in the morning on July 1, Blackjewel, LLC and associated companies operating 32 coal mines in Wyoming, West Virginia, Virginia, and Kentucky filed for bankruptcy. Later that day, emergency funding fell through as banks that had previously financed the operations of Blackjewel owner Jeff Hoops no […]

Powder River Breaks May – June 2019

Powder River Breaks May – June 2019 Volume 47, Number 3 Last month, after a two-day hearing over Powder River’s objections to Contura Coal West’s proposal to transfer their permits for the Belle Ayr and Eagle Butte coal strip mines to Blackjewel LLC, the Wyoming Environmental Quality Council (EQC) postponed making a decision. The EQC […]

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 […]