Obama administration halts new coal leases on federal land
“Coal has been mined throughout Utah for more than 100 years, now providing 76 percent of the electricity generated across the state”.
The United States has to lead by example in fighting climate change, and that should start with the way that we manage the coal and other fossil fuel resources on public lands that belong to the American people. “Today’s move – imposing a moratorium on new coal leases on federal lands – goes beyond EPA regulation”, Governor Matt Mead said.
What it means: The length of the pause on new coal-mining leases has not yet been determined, and coal companies can continue mining the coal reserves already under lease. The pause comes in tandem with a major review of the federal coal program by the department, aimed at calculating the environmental costs of the coal industry’s activities and the financial return taxpayers should be receiving from the industry’s often very cushy lease terms.
“Par.47489. File.dat/Coal%20Reform%20Fact%20Sheet%20Final.pdf” target=”_blank”>announced Friday his administration has placed a moratorium on new leases for coal mined from federal lands as part of a sweeping review on the government’s management of vast amounts of taxpayer-owned coal throughout the West.
Almost 90 percent of coal tracts leased by the Interior Department receive just a single bid, and royalty rates have remained unchanged since 1976. That’s a sham. The president decided a long time ago he wanted to destroy the coal industry and this is about wanting to make coal more expensive and less accessible.
Environmental groups hailed the moratorium as a sign that the Obama administration is leading the world on climate change. Coal companies pay a 12.5 percent royalty rate for surface mining on federal lands, which is well below the 18.75 percent royalty charged for offshore oil and gas drilling.
Jewell says the coal leasing program has not been significantly changed in more than 30 years.
There will be exceptions for metallurgical coal, which is used in steel production, and for emergency leases “when there is a demonstrated safety need or insufficient reserves”, the Department of the Interior said in a statement. “We will continue to fight to ensure our policies promote access to affordable, reliable energy”.
It’s unclear what impact the moratorium will have on overall USA coal production, given declining domestic demand and the closure of numerous coal-fired power plants around the country.
Meanwhile, David J. Hayes, a senior fellow at the liberal-leaning Center for American Progress, said Thursday the current rules for coal mining on federal lands were written when people could still smoke on planes and dump sewage in the ocean. “The ramifications for the country will be bad: lost growth, lost jobs, and lost revenue that would have gone to schools, bridges, and roads”.
The administration will point to concerns raised during the public hearings to launch its review of the federal coal program.
“This is really big news, and we at the Sierra Club are really, really excited to see the president take this leadership on this issue we think is top priority”, Connie Wilbert, director of Sierra Club’s Wyoming chapter said in a phone interview.
“It’s important to get all the facts on it so we could have a good discussion on it”, he said.
Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club, applauded the administration’s action.
It won’t make much of a difference to global climate, said Moffat County Commissioner John Kinkaid, whose county is home to two of the state’s operating mines.
The move was immediately hailed by environmental groups, including Greenpeace, which said the federal leasing program “undercut” Obama’s climate agenda “by giving away our coal at subsidized rates, propping up this outdated energy source without regard for the damage done to communities or our climate”.