Trump order gives Colstrip ownership a chance to do better

The 40-year-old coal-fired power plant in Colstrip lives to see another day. 

Last week President Trump issued an executive order that exempts Colstrip and 70 other U.S. plants from a Biden-era mandate to reduce fossil fuel emissions. 

Talen and NorthWestern, two of the companies that operate Colstrip, argued in a court challenge to Biden's rule last year that the more stringent requirements would force the companies to either shutter the plant or invest somewhere between $350 million and $600 million in upgrades by 2027. 

But with a stroke of his pen, Trump's order pushes back the compliance date for the new standard by an additional two years, meaning Colstrip can operate without the new emission upgrades through July 2029. 

The order provided a huge sigh of relief for Southeast Montana's coal country. The region between Miles City and Billings is home to the Powder River Coal Basin, the most productive coal reserve in the U.S. While it's true that coal has been in decline for decades, the industry still supports some 600 people who work in Montana mines and at the Colstrip plant. For perspective, that's equivalent to Weyerhaeuser's workforce in the Flathead Valley. 

The prosperity of the region is tied to coal in almost every regard -- Colstrip's outright closure would be a seismic economic blow to hundreds of Southeast Montana families with an unacceptable fallout cascading across the state. 

The Montana Bureau of Business and Economic Research warned as much in a 2018 report. If the plant ceased production, Montana would have 3,300 fewer jobs with an average earning of nearly $80,000, the report stated. 

The effects go beyond employment, as well. 

"Not only has the significant export of electrical power to neighboring states supported jobs, incomes and tax revenue in our state since the mid-1980s, but the outsized tax contributions of the coal industry to the revenue base of state government gives communities across the state a stake in outcomes affecting Colstrip," the Bureau report stated, referencing the state's coal severance tax fund that supports Montana schools, infrastructure and economic development. 

Keeping Colstrip online is an immediate win for all of Montana: It retains good-paying jobs, keeps critical tax revenue flowing to communities large and small, and helps diversify the state’s energy portfolio that includes gas, hydro, solar, wind and coal. 

Now, the ball is in Colstrip’s ownership group to do better. 

Trump has graciously given Colstrip – ranked as the nation’s most polluting plant -- four years to meet the higher emission standards that most U.S. coal plants already meet.   

It's time for Colstrip ownership to stop passing the buck and invest in the necessary upgrades to ensure the plant’s long-term viability and better protect the public from harmful toxins like lead, arsenic and mercury. 

Gov. Greg Gianforte and Montana's congressional delegation have long been ardent supporters of Montana's coal country. Now, they must hold it accountable to realize Trump’s vision for “beautiful, clean coal.” Montana’s economy and environment are counting on it.