Early this morning, once-giant coal mining company Arch Coal, Inc. filed for bankruptcy in St. Louis, Missouri. The move was widely anticipated following a missed interest payment to the company’s lenders in mid-December, but is nevertheless grim news for communities … Continued
Landowner members of the Northern Plains Resource Council filed a petition asking the Surface Transportation Board (STB) to permanently close the file on the Tongue River Railroad (TRR). For 38 years the TRR has prevented landowners from making investments and … Continued
The South Dakota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) voted unanimously on Jan. 5 to approve TransCanada’s expired permit application for the Keystone XL pipeline. To be built, the pipeline would need permits from each of the states through which it passes. … Continued
As the famous thought experiment proposed by philosopher George Berkeley goes, “If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” Berkeley’s thought experiment is intended to pose several philosophical questions. … Continued
By the close of the comment period over 850,000 comments were submitted in support of the EPA methane rules. Millions of metric tons of methane, the primary component of natural gas, are leaked, vented, and flared throughout the oil and … Continued
The 40-year ban on the export of American crude oil is over. On December 18, 2015, by a vote of 65-33, the U.S. Senate approved a deal to fund the federal government for 2016, which included a provision repealing the … Continued
The Senate today gave final congressional approval to an annual appropriations bill. A provision of the bill repeals the U.S. country-of-origin labeling (COOL) law. The repeal is a response to the World Trade Organization (WTO) decision authorizing Canada and Mexico … Continued
Today, WORC and Powder River Basin Resource Council (PRBRC) filed a formal citizen complaint requesting inspection and enforcement of financial bonds guaranteeing reclamation at Arch’s huge Wyoming mines. At stake is Arch’s $457 million reclamation liability that covers both its Black Thunder … Continued
A new report released yesterday sheds light on the hidden costs of coal production, which the Department of the Interior (DOI) should take into account if it wants to modernize the federal coal program and earn “fair market value” for taxpayers, as required by … Continued
WORC’s Board of Directors elected officers during its meeting Dec. 5. Dakota Rural Action’s (DRA) Nancy Hartenhoff-Crooks takes the reins as Chair. A DRA member for nearly 20 years, Nancy and her husband live on a small acreage on the … Continued