Judge revives Obama-era ban on coal sales from U.S. lands
BILLINGS, Mont. — A federal judge on Friday reinstated a moratorium on coal leasing from federal lands that was imposed under former President Barack Obama and then scuttled under former President Donald Trump, in an order that marked a major setback to the already struggling coal industry.
The ruling from U.S. District Judge Brian Morris requires government officials to conduct a new environmental review before they can resume coal sales from federal lands. Morris faulted the government’s previous review of the program, done under Trump, for failing to adequately consider the climate damage from coal’s greenhouse gas emissions and other effects.
Almost half the nation’s annual coal production — some 260 million tons last year — is mined by private companies from leases on federal land, primarily in Western states such as Wyoming, Montana and Colorado.
Few coal leases were sold in recent years after demand for the fuel shrank drastically. But the industry’s opponents had urged Morris to revive the Obama-era moratorium to ensure it can’t make a comeback as wildfires, drought, rising sea levels and other effects of climate change worsen.
The coal program brought in about $400 million to federal and state coffers through royalties and other payments in 2021, according to government data. It supports thousands of jobs and has been fiercely defended by industry representatives, Republicans in Congress and officials in coal- producing states.
The Biden administration last year launched a review of climate damage from coal mining on public lands as it expanded scrutiny of government fossil fuel sales that contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. But no changes had been announced as a result of that review.
“This decision gives the Biden administration the opportunity to make good on its commitment to seriously battle the climate crisis,” said Earthjustice attorney Jenny Harbine, who represented environmental groups and the Northern Cheyenne Tribe in the case. “No progress has been made to reform the program or do what’s needed to phase out existing leases.”
Officials from Montana and Wyoming had intervened in the case on the side of the federal government and argued against reviving the moratorium.
A spokesperson for Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen said the Biden administration’s defense of the federal coal program was only “half-hearted” because of its close alignment with environmentalists. Knudsen spokesperson Kyler Nerison added that the decision was an example of environmentalists taking advantage of federal laws to endlessly delay energy development.