Trump Administration Approves Massive Expansion at Montana’s Rosebud Coal Mine
Expansion allows mine to continue destroying Montana land, air, and waters for decades to come
Contacts
Perry Wheeler, Earthjustice, pwheeler@earthjustice.org
The Interior Department today announced the approval of a massive expansion at Montana’s Rosebud coal mine that will keep the mine open through 2039 and allow for the production of approximately 71 million tons of coal. The Rosebud expansion is the second largest federal coal mine expansion since the beginning of the second Trump administration.
In 2022, a district court ruled that the expansion was approved illegally during the first Trump administration. The court found that the Office of Surface Mining failed to consider the impacts from this massive expansion on water resources, the Yellowstone River, and the climate.
“The Rosebud mine has been destroying Montana’s lands and poisoning its waters and air for decades,” said Shiloh Hernandez, senior attorney with Earthjustice’s Northern Rockies Office. “We will all pay the price for the Trump administration’s decision to rubberstamp this mine expansion. It will increase Montanans’ electricity bills and further degrade our climate. We will continue to fight this mine and do everything in our power to protect vulnerable communities and our environment from its impacts.”
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