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Coal Leases Biden
FILE - A truck carrying 250 tons of coal hauls the fuel to the surface of the Spring Creek mine, April 4, 2013, near Decker, Mont. The Biden administration is proposing to end new coal leases from federal lands in the Powder River Basin of Montana and Wyoming, which includes Spring Creek. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)

US proposes ending new federal leases in nation's biggest coal region

The Biden administration has proposed an end to new coal leasing from federal reserves in the most productive coal mining region of the U.S. The move announced Thursday would limit future climate-changing greenhouse gas emissions from burning the fuel

By Matthew Brown
Published - May 16, 2024, 01:48 PM ET
Last Updated - May 16, 2024, 01:48 PM EDT

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — 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 the Biden administration unveiled an air quality rule that could force many coal-fired power plants to reduce their pollution or shut down.

Thursday's proposal was made in response to a 2022 court order that said two federal land management plans drafted for the Powder River Basin during the Trump administration failed to adequately take into account climate change and public health problems caused by burning coal.

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