Let’s bury “crimes against critical infrastructure” once for all
(Published in the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle on January 17, 2019.) Last year we witnessed one of the strangest legislative battles Wyoming has ever seen, the fight over SF-74, “crimes against critical infrastructure.” Last year’s bill not only sparked the ire of Native Americans and nonprofit groups around Wyoming who believed it would chill free speech, but […]
Powder River Objects to Blackjewel Coal Permits
November 29, 2018 (Sheridan, WY) Today, Powder River Basin Resource Council (Resource Council) filed an objection with the Wyoming Environmental Quality Council (EQC) over Contura’s proposal to transfer their coal mine permits for the Belle Ayr and Eagle Butte mines to Blackjewel, LLC. The Resource Council’s objection maintains that the permit transfers fail to meet […]
Powder River’s 2018 Annual Report
November 4, 2018 This is Powder River Basin Resource Council’s 2018 Annual Report. To read the full report, please download the PDF.
Updated Tax Report Shows Mineral Tax Delinquency Growing
(Sheridan, WY) An updated report shows that mineral extraction companies owe Wyoming counties nearly $55 million in unpaid taxes throughout the state, up nearly $13 million since January. Today Powder River Basin Resource Council (Powder River) released a revised report “Ad Valorem Taxes in Wyoming: Proposed Improvements” providing updated data and suggests legislative actions to […]
Ad Valorem Taxes in Wyoming: Proposed Improvements
Our original report in January 2018 (Delinquent Mineral Taxes and Budget Deficits: A Case for Reform) detailed Wyoming’s heavy dependence on mineral taxes to fund state and local government services. We discussed the fact that Wyoming gets more than 70% of our total revenue from taxes on mineral extraction and the impacts to county services […]
Report Shows Coal Reclamation Benefits Taxpayers and Creates Jobs
July 10, 2018 A new report has found that approximately 206 square miles of land from 14 Wyoming coal mines has been disturbed; however, only 2.4% of that land has been fully reclaimed. Today the Powder River Basin Resource Council (Resource Council) published a report “Reclaim Wyoming: Prioritize Coal Mine Reclamation” which tracked reclamation statistics […]
Powder River Basin Resource Council Petitions Wyoming DEQ to End Self-Bonding and Protect Taxpayers and Adjacent Landowners
May 1, 2018 This week the Powder River Basin Resource Council (Resource Council) filed a formal rulemaking petition with the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality’s Land Quality Division to end the practice of self-bonding for coal mines. In order to better shield Wyoming taxpayers from having to fund mine clean-up in the event of a […]
GAO Report on Coal Mine Self-Bonding March 2018
Coal accounts for 17 percent of domestic energy production. SMCRA requires coal mine operators to reclaim lands that were disturbed during mining and to submit a financial assurance in an amount sufficient to ensure that adequate funds will be available to complete reclamation if the operator does not do so. Recent coal company bankruptcies have […]
Petition to Amend Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality Rules on Self-Bonding
The Resource Council, along with its over 1,000 members throughout the state, advocates for the conservation of Wyoming’s unique land, mineral, water, and clean air resources consistent with responsible use of those resources to sustain the livelihood of present and future generations. Since its founding in 1973, the Resource Council has worked on coal mining […]
Now Is the Time to End Self-Bonding
In the eight months between August 2015 and April 2016, the three largest coal companies in the United States all filed for bankruptcy: Peabody Energy, Arch Coal, and Alpha Natural Resources. Between them, they had pledged $2.3 billion of self-bonds in support of mine cleanup, known as “reclamation.” Coal companies are required by law to […]
