Environmental groups push Trump Administration for transparency on climate impacts of coal leasing

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Caleb Heeringa: Caleb.heeringa@sierraclub.org, (425) 890-9744

Montana judge hears oral arguments in appeal of federal government’s halt of coal leasing review

GREAT FALLS - Today the Sierra Club and environmental allies argued in U.S. District Court that the Trump Administration violated the National Environmental Policy Act when it unilaterally halted a comprehensive review of federal coal leasing on public lands.

A win in the case could force the federal government to finally take an honest look at the climate change impact of coal mining on public lands, which when combined with gas and oil extraction is responsible for nearly a quarter of the United States’ climate pollution. The Trump Administration has repeatedly ignored recent federal court rulings calling for such a review, reissuing faulty analyses for the largest surface coal leases in history, the largest underground mine expansion in the U.S.; and the Bureau of Land Management’s largest land use plan.

The coal leasing review, initiated under the Obama Administration, was meant to fix several well-documented flaws in federal coal leasing, which hadn’t been reviewed since 1979. The current system includes loopholes in royalty rules that give coal companies subsidized access to public lands, depriving taxpayers of millions of dollars of revenue every year. Trump and Ryan Zinke’s Department of the the Interior halted the review process in 2017, prompting this appeal from the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, the Sierra Club, Earthjustice and the Center for Biological Diversity.

Judge Brian Morris is expected to issue a ruling in the coming months.

“The Trump Administration may prefer to bury their head in the sand, but the American people deserve to know how much coal mined from their land is contributing to the increased wildfire, drought and rising sea level they’re seeing in their communities,” said Nathaniel Shoaff, Senior Attorney for the Sierra Club.

“A review of coal leasing from public land would shine much needed light on an unaccountable system that adds to climate change and deprives local communities of their rightful share of revenue from coal leasing,” said Connie Wilbert, Director of the Wyoming Chapter of the Sierra Club.

 

About the Sierra Club

The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3 million members and supporters. In addition to helping people from all backgrounds explore nature and our outdoor heritage, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.