coal drag line mining

BLM Fails to Change with Coal Market

Guest editorial lays out why the BLM’s approach to coal leasing lags behind both science and the coal market. The following piece was printed as a guest editorial in the Billings Gazette on May 4, 2018. The column, written by … Continued

Crimes against critical infrastructure bill

Riding the Wyoming Legislative Rollercoaster

Following the Crimes Against Critical Infrastructure Bill, which threatens 1st Amendment and property-owners’ rights, through the winding halls of the Wyoming Legislature. Legislation drafted by a consortium of the most powerful fossil fuel industries and corporate interests in the country … Continued

coal royalty loophole

5 graphs explain coal in Trump’s first year

This report is the result of a collaboration between Appalachian Voices and the Western Organization of Resource Councils to assess the effect of Trump Administration policies on economic growth in coal-producing regions. By Colin Lauderdale & Erin Savage One year … Continued

coal bankruptcy, coal industry, coal strip mine act

One step forward for the coal industry, two steps back

For every step forward in 2017, the coal industry saw at least two steps backward. The slow unraveling of the industry will take time, but each passing month begs certain questions about the future more and more urgently. Will coal … Continued

NAFTA re-negotiations

Re-negotiate Country of Origin Labels into New NAFTA

November 17 marked the beginning of the 5th round of North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) re-negotiations in Mexico. It also marked the anniversary of when the U.S. House of Representatives passed NAFTA into law in 1993. When we heard … Continued

RECLAIM Act

RECLAIM Act Cleans Up Coal Mines and Creates Jobs

I’m a coal miner from Nucla, Colorado, where I work for Elk Ridge Mining and Reclamation. We are currently reclaiming New Horizon North Mine. In August of 2016, my coworkers and I were informed by Tri-State Generation and Transmission that … Continued

RECLAIM Act advocates

RECLAIM Act advocates meet with Congressional offices

Last month, WORC members from three states joined advocates from across the country in Washington, D.C., to lobby Congress in support of the RECLAIM Act, HR 1731. Gene Wirtz from Underwood, N.D., Kate French from Bozeman, Mont., and Roger and … Continued

coal self bonding

Coal export terminals denied

Proposed coal export terminals received more bad news today. The Washington Department of Ecology denied a crucial water quality permit sought by Millennium Bulk Terminals to build and operate a 48.5 million tons per year coal export facility in Longview, … Continued

coal export coal royalty loophole energy executive order federal coal leasing program

Federal coal leasing program looks at another sale

The federal coal leasing program has been broken for years. But that isn’t stopping Secretary Ryan Zinke’s Interior Department from considering selling a tract of hundreds of millions of tons of publicly-owned coal. Cloud Peak Energy is proposing to expand … Continued

A win for landowners on Ramaco Brook Coal Mine permit

On August 1, the Wyoming Environmental Quality Council (EQC) ruled 4-to-1 in favor of Powder River Basin Resource Council and Tongue River landowners when they rejected the approval of the proposed Ramaco Brook Coal mine permit. The hearing before the … Continued