"Democratic U.S. senators on Monday urged the Obama administration to reform the federal coal mine program to include costs of the fuel's carbon emissions and potentially raise royalties paid by companies that mine the fuel on public lands.

Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington, the top Democrat on the senate energy panel, and seven other senators asked Interior Secretary Sally Jewell in a letter to use the agency's existing powers to develop a plan on federal coal mining.

The federal leasing program on coal is nearly 40 years old and does not account for costs associated with carbon emissions."

Timothy Gardner reports for Reuters November 2, 2015. [2]