Opposition Letter re Coal Provisions in HNR Reconciliation Recommendations.docx

A coalition of 54 organizations opposes budget reconciliation recommendations from the House Committee on Natural Resources that would expand coal leasing on federal lands, reduce royalty payments for coal companies, and mandate the approval of specific mining projects. The authors argue these measures contradict climate goals and economic trends, noting that coal produces less than one-fifth of U.S. electricity but over half of the electric power sector's CO2 emissions. Specifically, they oppose the mandate for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to make four million acres available for leasing, the reduction of maximum royalty rates to 7 percent, the expansion of the Bull Mountains coal mine in Montana, and the reopening of the Powder River Basin to new leasing.

• The House Committee on Natural Resources' recommendations include Sec. 80141, which would require the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to make at least four million acres of public land available for coal leasing within 90 days of enactment, representing a potential ten-fold increase over current leased areas.
• The proposed budget reconciliation includes a plan to establish a 9-year maximum royalty rate of 7 percent for coal mining operations, which the authors argue would reduce funding for state and local governments and subsidize uncompetitive high-cost coal.
• The recommendations seek to bypass environmental and public review processes to authorize an 800-acre expansion of the Bull Mountains coal mine project in Montana via Sec. 80144.
• Sections 80302 and 80303 aim to reopen the Powder River Basin in Montana and Wyoming to new coal leasing, reversing 2024 Resource Management Plan amendments that ended the practice to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reflect market declines.
• Sec. 80142 proposes to revoke a 2016 federal moratorium on new coal-leasing nationwide, which was originally implemented to evaluate the program's contribution to climate change and environmental externalities.

APA

Earthjustice (2025). Opposition Letter re Coal Provisions in HNR Reconciliation Recommendations.docx. https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/opposition-letter-re-coal-provisions-in-hnr-reconciliation-recommendations-final-2025.05.05.pdf

Chicago

Earthjustice. Opposition Letter re Coal Provisions in HNR Reconciliation Recommendations.docx. 2025. https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/opposition-letter-re-coal-provisions-in-hnr-reconciliation-recommendations-final-2025.05.05.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Earthjustice |title=Opposition Letter re Coal Provisions in HNR Reconciliation Recommendations.docx |date=5 May 2025 |url=https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/opposition-letter-re-coal-provisions-in-hnr-reconciliation-recommendations-final-2025.05.05.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{earthjustice2025opposition, author = {{Earthjustice}}, title = {{Opposition Letter re Coal Provisions in HNR Reconciliation Recommendations.docx}}, publisher = {Earthjustice}, year = {2025}, month = may, url = {https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/opposition-letter-re-coal-provisions-in-hnr-reconciliation-recommendations-final-2025.05.05.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }