U.S. proposes ending new federal leases in nation's biggest coal region
FILE - In this March 28, 2017 file photo, a dump truck hauls coal at Contura Energy's Eagle Butte Mine near Gillette, Wyo. A judge has ruled U.S. government officials engaged in regional-level planning failed to follow a court order requiring them to consider allowing less coal to be mined as a way to fight climate change. The Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022 ruling by U.S. District Judge Brian Morris in Great Falls, Montana, applies to the country’s top coal-producing region, the Powder River Basin of Wyoming and Montana. (AP Photo/Mead Gruver, File)
BILLINGS — The Biden administration on Thursday proposed an end to new coal leasing from federal reserves in the most productive coal mining region in the U.S. as officials seek to limit climate-changing greenhouse gas emissions from burning the fuel.
The Bureau of Land Management proposal would affect millions of acres (millions of hectares) of federal lands and underground mineral reserves in the Powder River Basin area of Wyoming and Montana.
The immediate impact is likely to be limited because coal leases take many years to develop and demand has flagged in recent years. But the proposal drew a harsh pushback from Republicans in Congress, coming just weeks after President Joe Biden's Democratic administration unveiled an air quality rule that could force many coal-fired power plants to reduce their pollution or shut down.
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