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
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
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 and the member groups joined a coalition of 142 rancher, farmer, rural, consumer, manufacturer, labor, faith and environmental groups from across the United States delivered a letter urging the Senate to reject both the effort to repeal the country of … Continued
After six years of top secret negotiations, the Obama Administration released the text of the massive new Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal Nov. 5. The initial reaction: It’s worse than we thought. If approved by Congress, the TPP trade deal among 12 nations is … Continued
On July 8, 2015, Secretary of Interior Sally Jewell followed up on her earlier call for an “honest and open conversation” on the coal leasing program by announcing five listening sessions in late July, early August. In response, WORC helped … Continued
In June, WORC released a new report covering the need for greater oversight and enforcement in order to protect large tracts of strip mined land that has been surface mined in Western states. Undermined Promise II found that reclamation bonds … Continued
Between proposed coal export terminals and expanding oil production, more fuel is transported by trains than ever--with potentially disastrous consequences. At 11:30PM on the evening…
These four tax-collection reforms could save Wyoming counties millions in unpaid taxes. Written by Bob LeResche, vice-chair of Powder River Basin Resource Council. When the…
Above: The Kemmerer Mine serves as a backdrop to PacifiCorp’s Naughton Plant, which is a major consumer of the mine’s coal, but is set to…