Northern Cheyenne Tribe and conservation groups urge Interior Department to act on coal

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a lawsuit from the Northern Cheyenne Tribe and conservation groups that had successfully reinstated the Obama-era coal leasing moratorium is moot.

The U.S. coal leasing program is an outdated relic of the past that must be phased out immediately

The administration has refused to reinstate an Obama-era moratorium as U.S. coal consumption rises

A judicial decision gives the Biden administration a chance to make its actions fit its public commitment to fighting climate change.

Coal leasing halted until Bureau of Land Management completes sufficient environmental analysis

The Northern Cheyenne Tribe is part of a lawsuit challenging the Biden administration’s defense of continued coal leasing on public lands.

How President Biden can align the federal fossil fuel program to deliver on climate and put people over profits

The Tribe and conservation plaintiffs request that this court declare that the challenged decision and environmental assessment (EA) violate the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and federal defendants’ tribal trust obligations, vacate the challenge decision and EA, and remand the federal defendants for analysis consistent with NEPA before resuming coal leasing that would have been foreclosed by the moratorium.

Jenny Harbine, Managing Attorney, Northern Rockies Office, Earthjustice: “The opportunity costs of not doing something will be felt generations into the future if this administration doesn’t reverse course quickly and begin to align its actions with its words.”

Intervenor-defendants state of Wyoming and state of Montana’s joint memorandum in support of cross motion for summary judgment and response to plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment.

Intervenor-defendant National Mining Association’s memorandum of points and authorities in support of cross-motion for summary judgment and opposition to plaintiffs’ motions for summary judgment.

Earthjustice responds to Biden administration failure to act on coal

Memorandum in support of federal defendants’ cross-motion for summary judgment and in opposition to Citizens for Clean Energy et al. and the Northern Cheyenne Tribe’s motions for summary judgment and supporting memoranda.

A missed opportunity to address climate pollution from the largest coal mining region in the U.S.

Jenny Harbine, Attorney, Northern Rockies Office: “There’s a false narrative that is out there that the market will take care of coal, and all we need to do is focus on oil and gas. Coal will not take care of itself on the time frame that’s needed to address our climate crisis.”

Jenny Harbine, Attorney, Northern Rockies Office, Earthjustice: “We’re sitting here in record heat and choking wildfires. There couldn’t be a more important time of the administration to take action to end fossil fuel production from our federal lands.”

The review will address the impacts of coal mining on air, water, climate, and communities