Democrat President Joe Biden’s administration has moved to end future leasing in a large swath of the Powder River Basin – America’s top coal-producing region.
On Thursday, Biden’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) proposed to effectively ban future leasing in a sizable portion of the coal-rich geologic formation covering parts of Wyoming and Montana.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the Powder River Basin provided about 43 percent of the coal produced in the U.S. in 2019.
The BLM published a final plan after considering alternative options.
The other options would have maintained the status quo or limited, but not ended, future coal leasing activity in the area.
However, the federal agency opted to move forward with the “no leasing” proposal.
According to the final impact statement’s text, the proposal would “[make] no BLM-administered coal available for leasing within the planning area.”
Environmentalist organizations and green agenda advocates cheered the move.
Many celebrated the BLM’s decision to keep 6 billion tons of coal in the ground.
The area covered by BLM’s decision Thursday is confined to northeast Wyoming.
It includes parts of Gillette, Wyoming.
Jeremy Nichols, a senior advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity, was among those green agenda advocates celebrating the Biden admin’s decision.
“This is what true leadership on climate and energy looks like.
“I applaud the Interior Department in recognizing we shouldn’t be saddled with more costly coal but instead empowered with clean, affordable energy that safeguards our climate for future generations.”
Republican Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), however, sharply criticized the proposal.
In a statement addressing the policy, Barrasso said:
“President Biden continues to wage war on Wyoming’s coal communities and families.
“This short-sighted plan will kill future coal leases in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin – the most energy-rich area in the country.
“This will kill jobs and could cost Wyoming hundreds of millions of dollars used to pay for public schools, roads, and other essential services in our communities.”
Notably, former President Barack Obama tried to impose a moratorium on coal leasing in the Powder River Basin when he was in office.
However, a federal court ultimately shot it down in February, according to WyoFile.
The Biden admin has aggressively regulated coal use to further its sweeping climate agenda since coming into office in 2021.
At the 2023 United Nations climate summit, the Biden admin joined an international pledge not to build any new coal-fired power plants and phase out those that are still in operation, according to The Associated Press.
Meanwhile, China permitted an average of two new coal plants per week in 2022, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air.
China is the world’s second-largest economy and by far its leading polluter.
In fact, China produces more pollution than the rest of the top 5 most-polluting nations combined.
According to a report by Global Energy Monitor, China also accounted for 95% of global construction activity on new coal-fired power plants in 2023.
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