WildEarth Guardians

Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Report: Coal Mining in West's Powder River Basin Largest Contributor to Global Warming in U.S.

Sham Coal Leasing Program Derailing Efforts to Address Global Warming; WildEarth Guardians Petitions Interior Secretary Salazar to Reform Coal Leasing
Contact: Jeremy Nichols (303) 573-4898 x1303

DENVER-A new report released today by WildEarth Guardians found that coal mining in the Powder River Basin of northeastern Wyoming and southeastern Montana is the largest contributor to global warming in the United States, a distinction made worse by a sham federal coal leasing program that has diminished competition and undermined efforts to address global warming.

“If we have any chance of confronting global warming in the U.S., we need to reform the coal leasing program in the Powder River Basin,” said Jeremy Nichols, Climate and Energy Program Director for WildEarth Guardians. “This remote region is responsible for more carbon dioxide emissions than any other single activity in the nation-for the sake of our communities, our economy, and our environment, we need to change course.”

Based on the findings of the report, WildEarth Guardian petitioned Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar to reform the coal leasing program in the Powder River Basin and address the global warming impacts of coal mining. In the meantime, WildEarth Guardians has called on the Interior Secretary to call a time-out on offering 12 new proposed coal leases.

The Powder River Basin is the nation’s largest coal producing region. Nearly 500,000,000 tons are strip mined annually. Coal from the Powder River Basin is burned in coal-fired power plants, which are already the largest source of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the U.S., making the Powder River Basin the largest contributor to global warming in the nation.

WildEarth Gaurdians’ report, entitled “UnderMining the Climate,” echoes the federal government’s findings that the Powder River Basin produces 42% of all the coal burned in U.S. coal-fired power plants, releasing 800,000,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions-more than 13% of the nation’s total. Making the problem worse is a sham federal leasing program that has shortchanged the American public and undermined the ability of the Bureau of Land Management-the Interior Department agency overseeing coal leasing in the Powder River Basin-to address global warming impacts.

All coal produced in the Powder River Basin is owned and leased by the federal government. Yet in 1990, the Bureau of Land Management “decertified” the Powder River Basin as a “coal production region,” in essence declaring the region no longer produced coal. This sham designation has allowed the Bureau to avoid following standard leasing procedures, in essence allowing coal companies, rather than the federal government, to design lease boundaries that preclude competition. WildEarth Guardians’ report found that in the last 20 years, only three lease sales out of 21 have had more than one bidder.

Most significantly, WildEarth Guardians’ report found the “decertification” of the Powder River Basin has prevented the Bureau of Land Management from addressing the global warming impacts of coal mining. Not only has it thwarted the ability of the agency to prepare a regional analysis of the global warming impacts, the “decertification” has blocked the agency from limiting coal leasing or otherwise adopting measures to address global warming.

“The government is literally shortchanging the public at the expense of our climate,” said Nichols. “This is borderline corruption and sadly, it’s our environment and our communities that stand to suffer most.”

Despite the report’s findings, the Bureau of Land Management is pushing to offer 12 new coal leases in the Powder River Basin that would collectively mine up to 5.8 billion tons of coal-as much coal as has been mined from the region in the last 20 years. WildEarth Guardians’ report found that together, these proposals threaten to lead to the release of more than 9.63 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide-more than the amount released every year by 1.7 billion passenger vehicles annually.

To address the global warming impacts of coal leasing, WildEarth Guardians’ report calls on the Secretary of the Interior to:

Call a time-out on all new coal leasing in the Powder River Basin. The Bureau of Land Management should refrain from issuing its 12 proposed coal leases and any more until the agency reforms the coal leasing program in the Powder River Basin.

“Recertify” the Powder River Basin a “coal production region” to restore true competitiveness to the coal leasing process.

Prepare a regional environmental analysis that fully addresses the global warming impacts of coal mining in the Powder River Basin.

Address the impacts of any new coal leases by requiring coal companies to pay a carbon fee for new leases that would be used to create a Global Warming Impact Fund.

Transition away from coal and toward renewable energy in the Powder River Basin.

In furtherance of these recommendations, WildEarth Guardians today also petitioned Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to both “recertify” the Powder River Basin as a coal production region and follow standard leasing procedures in order to fully address global warming impacts. The petition also calls on Interior Secretary Salazar to establish a carbon fee in order to create a Global Warming Impact Fund to support renewable energy development, habitat restoration, and other efforts to address the impacts of global warming.

“With 12 massive new coal leasing proposals slated to be approved, we cannot afford to continue business as usual in the Powder River Basin,” said Nichols. “We need Secretary Salazar to standup for sensible solutions to global warming and live up to his own commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions within the Department of Interior.”

Read the report (PDF)

Read the petition (PDF)