Action Alerts

This coal-rich area was protected from new mining but now the Trump administration wants to reverse course

What's At Stake

More than 43% of the coal produced in the U.S. and more than 85% of federal coal comes from the 13-million-acre Powder River Basin region in Wyoming and Montana. Last year, the Bureau of Land Management agreed to end new coal leasing in the region — a significant victory for the climate, communities, and our environment.

But now the Trump administration has started the process to re-open this region to new coal leasing. There’s currently a public comment period open, and we need your help. Send a letter to the Department of the Interior (DOI) urging them to keep the Powder River Basin closed to new coal leasing.

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Congressional Republicans passed — and President Trump signed into law — the biggest coal giveaway in history in the form of a budget reconciliation bill. Now, the Trump administration is pursuing another unwanted giveaway in this new move to open the Powder River Basin for coal leasing. These giveaways seek to keep a dying industry alive at the expense of our public health, clean air and water, and our changing climate. Communities nearby, like the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, have seen destruction of their lands and waters from decades of coal mining.

Coal is an expensive, dirty, and dangerous energy source — but it has made a handful of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) very wealthy. Now those CEOs have friends in the White House and lobbyists working alongside Trump appointees to keep the money flowing. Since day one, the Trump administration has been public about lining the pockets of wealthy fossil fuel CEOs. His “energy emergency” is built on false claims that read like industry talking points. But recent data shows that clean energy sources are more affordable than coal.

These clean energy sources could easily replace the nation’s aging coal plants without the pollution that comes with them. Unlike wind and solar energy, fossil fuel plants cause tremendous health and environmental harm, but they are profitable for utilities and their investors. Coal won’t go away as long as our elected officials prioritize private profit over community and environmental health. Urge the DOI today to keep coal in the ground!

North Antelope Rochelle Mine in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin. (EcoFlight)
North Antelope Rochelle Mine in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin. (EcoFlight)

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