Interior Dept. Calls For Major Changes To ‘Modernize’ Fed Coal Program

"With just days until President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, the Department of the Interior finalized a report Wednesday calling for major changes to the federal coal program by which the U.S. manages the leasing of land to companies for exploration and production across 570 million publicly owned acres.

A year ago, new leases were placed on hold pending this report. Trump, who campaigned as an ally of the coal industry, has pledged to reverse that controversial moratorium.

Interior Department lands, managed by the Bureau of Land Management, are estimated to contain 7.4 billion tons of coal that could be mined and sold. Environmental groups have charged that if these fossil fuel resources are actually dug up and burned the consequences could be severe for the planet’s climate, and continual domestic coal leasing had also come into increasing tension with President Obama’s ambitious climate change policies.

At the same time, domestic coal production has declined dramatically in recent years because of major changes in U.S. electricity generation. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the decline has been from nearly 1.2 billion short tons in 2008 to 743 million in 2015."

Juliet Eilperin and Chris Mooney report for the Washington Post January 11, 2017.

SEE ALSO:

"BLM Releases Long-Awaited Coal Program Review; Suggests Raising Coal Rental Rates With Inflation " (Casper Star Tribune)

"U.S. Interior Department Outlines Reforms For Federal Coal Program" (Reuters)

"US Seeks Changes To Coal Program, But Trump Could Alter Path" (AP)

"Interior Proposes Raising Royalty Rates On Federal Coal Mining" (The Hill)