Corporate bailout proposed by coal lobbyists would mean shortfalls in revenue for states
The National Mining Association’s use of the COVID-19 crisis to roll back royalty rates puts revenue streams for states and coal communities dealing with the crisis in jeopardy. The Western Organization of Resource Councils (WORC) and its member groups in Wyoming, Montana, and Colorado are asking Congress and the White House to reject a recent […]
Report Shows Wyoming Has Wasted Time & Money on Failed Coal Projects
Today the Powder River Basin Resource Council (Resource Council) released a new report, “Lessons from History: Wyoming’s 30 Years of Failed Coal Upgrading Projects,” which traces the state’s legacy of coal upgrading projects from the 1980s to the present. The Resource Council researched sixteen different public and private projects that were attempted during the past […]
Westerners Travel to Denver to Speak in Opposition to Fundamental Changes to NEPA
Denver, CO – Community leaders from across the Western U.S. traveled to Denver, Colorado today to testify at a hearing held by the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), the division of the White House charged with implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). In the public hearing, farmers, ranchers, tribal members, environmental experts and others […]
States face massive coal mine cleanup as closures loom, says new report
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 […]
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, […]
“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 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, […]
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, […]
