Coal in the News

20May

Miners Fear Federal Coal Reforms Jeopardize Rural Utah

Via The Salt Lake Tribune: But coal’s critics say you don’t have to look far to detect problems. Audits have discovered coal companies pay below-market rates to lease coal reserves, underpay royalties and are not always adequately bonded. And now companies are falling into bankruptcy in the face of a collapsing coal demand, raising the […]
20May

Hundreds of Utah Coal Miners Speak Out on Proposed Federal Reforms

Via The Desert News: SALT LAKE CITY — Frustrated coal miners, coal company executives and truckers who haul coal swamped a daylong public meeting Thursday on proposed reforms to the federal coal lease program, urging a three-year moratorium on new coal leases be overturned and reform efforts dropped. “Growing up, I never thought the biggest […]
20May

Ohio Rejects EPA’s Clean Power Plan

Via The Daily Caller:  The Ohio House of Representatives passed legislation Wednesday effectively nullifying the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Power Plan in the state. The legislation, called House Resolution 29, passed 71 to 22. It would effectively nullify the Clean Power Plan in Ohio by prohibiting state enforcement or cooperation with the EPA formally opposing the plan. If […]
19May

Coal War Intensifies with Obama Review

Via The Hill:  Miners and Western Republicans are lining up against the Obama administration and environmentalists in what some consider the next front in the “war on coal.” Interior Secretary Sally Jewell announced a three-year moratorium on new coal leases on public lands in January, launching a review that could potentially result in mining companies […]
18May

Showdown Over Federal Coal Leasing Reform at Hearing

Via The Gillette News Record: CASPER — Emotions are running high in a showdown in Casper between environmentalists and the mining industry over possibly increasing federal fees to mine coal. A federal coal-lease moratorium has added uncertainty to an industry struggling with bankruptcies, layoffs and mine closures. Any changes will have a big effect on […]
17May

Speakers Decry ‘Heavy Hand of Regulation’ at BLM Coal Meeting

Via The Wyoming Business Report:  The first of six public meetings hosted by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management on its recent environmental assessment of the federal coal program took place in Casper today, with the many speakers criticizing federal regulations they say have helped push the coal industry into disarray, as prices have plummeted […]
17May

Op-ed: Federal Coal Leasing Doesn’t Need Major Reform

Via The Salt Lake Tribune: Many in Utah may not realize it, but coal provides roughly 75 percent of the electricity in our state. It’s no coincidence that states like Utah with high levels of coal-generated power enjoy the lowest electricity costs in the country. That low cost of electricity is good for Utah families […]
17May

Admin Referees Fight to Win ‘War on Coal’

Via E&E Publishing:  With rhetoric reaching a fever pitch, groups warring over coal’s future are getting their first chance to weigh in on the Obama administration’s review of federal leasing. The Department of the Interior’s first public scoping meeting is underway this afternoon in Casper, Wyo., four months after Interior Secretary Sally Jewell imposed a […]
16May

It’s Not the Free Market that is Killing Coal

Via Breitbart: These days, the pundits are offering a lot of different reasons why America’s coal industry is faltering: Natural gas is taking the place of coal; Demand in China has slowed; A warm El Nino winter has meant less power use. The list goes on. However, we never hear much about the big elephant […]