A troupe of WORC members and staff attended two packed days of meetings in Washington, D.C., on November 18 and 19. The meetings brought participants face-to-face with federal decision makers to hear their demands on coal leasing, mining, and reclamation policy. Unlike some previous meetings in Washington, participants reported a warm and attentive reception.
Coal mining companies have been able to win public coal leases for only pennies per ton while slacking on the requirement to clean-up their mines at the pace required under federal law. This means that the treasuries of local, state and federal governments are shortchanged money owed under the law, while farmers and ranchers who would like to put mined land back into productive agricultural use must wait decades before reclamation is completed.
A report released by WORC and partners earlier this year found that final reclamation at Western strip mines is lagging dangerously, and that reclamation bonds may outstrip the industry’s financial resources. Out of a total of 450 square miles of mined land across Wyoming, Montana and North Dakota, only 46 square miles have been fully reclaimed, spurring concerns that taxpayers will be stuck with a clean-up bill of roughly $2 billion and that Western landscapes, agricultural lands, water and wildlife will be permanently damaged. While in Washington, D.C., WORC members advocated for full clean-up of sprawling coal strip mines in the Powder River Basin and adequate reclamation bonding to cover clean-up costs. Read more about the Undermined Promise II report here.
Another area of concern is the leasing policy that governs the billions of tons of federally-owned coal in the West. Since the early 1980s, coal companies have been able to nominate tracts of Western coal to mine at a price they can easily pay, shortchanging taxpayers out of billions of dollars by paying only pennies per ton. Coal mining companies have also been undervaluing mined coal to lower royalty payments, especially on coal bound for export. This practice is the target of a proposed rule from the Department of Interior. In light of these violations of public trust and fiduciary responsibility, WORC members in Washington, D.C., advocated for sensible leasing policy that guarantees a fair return on publicly-owned resources.
Despite the warm reception from federal agencies and Congressional offices on these issues, actions speak louder than words. WORC members and staff will keep the pressure on.