Powder River Breaks Newsletter, May – June 2024
May – June 2024, Volume 52, Number 3 In May, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced 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 environmental and health […]
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 Breaks Newsletter, March – April 2024
March – April 2024, Volume 52, Number 2 On February 12, the Department of the Interior announced a finalized rule reforming the Bureau of Land Management’s onshore oil and gas leasing program. Readers may recall this rule was proposed last spring. Powder River members engaged diligently throughout the rulemaking process to ensure quick passage and […]
Powder River Breaks Newsletter, January – February 2024
January – February 2024, Volume 52, Number 1 Last year, High Plains Power became the third rural electric cooperative, and the largest, to significantly reduce the compensation it provides to customers who generate their own solar electricity. Called net metering, Wyoming law provides that a utility has to credit or compensate a solar owner for […]
Powder River Breaks Newsletter, May – June 2023
May – June 2023, Volume 51, Number 3 In May, Powder River joined with Western Colorado Alliance (WCA) and Western Organization of Resource Councils (WORC) to advocate for stronger federal onshore oil and gas bonding requirements. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is considering a rule that would update onshore oil and gas lease sales. […]
Powder River Breaks Newsletter, January – February 2023
January – February 2023, Volume 51, Number 1 A Jan. 31 Bloomberg article by journalist Aaron Clark revealed significant shortcomings in emissions reporting at the Douglas Gas Plant, operated by Tallgrass Midstream, LLC. Following a routine maintenance project, oxygen levels at the facility rose to a hazardous level, prompting operators to conduct a safety release […]
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 Breaks Newsletter May – June 2022
May – June 2022, Volume 50, Number 3 On June 13, energy experts from Crossborder Energy released a new report analyzing the benefits and costs of rooftop solar in Wyoming, from the perspective of utilities and their customers. Powder River hosted the experts to present their findings in a webinar, Rooftop Solar in Wyoming: Analyzing […]
Powder River Breaks Newsletter March – April 2022
March – April 2022, Volume 50, Number 2 Wyoming’s Zero Emission Vehicle Strategy is the state’s plan to use federal infrastructure funding to accomplish its zero emission infrastructure visions. The strategy recognizes the electric-vehicle-centric nature of much of the federal rollout, by including both short-term needs to take advantage of the current funding, and longer-term […]
Lawsuit Challenging National Coal Council Comes to an End after DOE Shutters the Council
Western Grassroots lawsuit results in commitment to improved balance and transparency Thursday, May 19th, the Western Organization of Resource Councils (WORC) represented by Democracy Forward and EarthJustice, voluntarily dismissed their lawsuit against the Department of Energy (DOE) following the dissolution of the National Coal Council (NCC) and the establishment of a restructured National Advisory Committee […]
