About 120 people gathered at the Northern Plains Resource Council building in Billings last Friday to dedicate a totem pole carved by members of the Lummi Nation in Washington state. The totem pole is a gift from the Lummi to members of the Northern Cheyenne in … Continued
Landowners and downstream water users were successful in gaining a review of the status of reclamation by federal and state agencies overseeing mining at Cloud Peak Energy’s Spring Creek Mine in southeastern Montana. Federal Judge Susan Watters affirmed an earlier decision … Continued
A team of scientists led by Dr. Dan Jaffe, professor of Atmospheric and Environmental Chemistry at the University of Washington, carried out a study of pollution emitted from coal trains and freight trains in the Columbia River Gorge. The study … Continued
Read the full statement from Powder River Basin Resource Council, Northern Plains Resource Council, and WORC here. Today, the Department of Interior announced a complete review of the federal coal program. The review comes in response to calls from citizens … Continued
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