On Thanksgiving Day, according to multiple reports, the Biden administration moved to bar future coal leasing in the Powder River Basin, one of America’s most coal-rich areas.
The Powder River Basin, includes parts of Montana and Wyoming. Nearly half – 43% – of U.S. coal in mined 2019, was mined in the area, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
While Americans focused on the holiday and travel plans on Wednesday, the administration moved to formally end coal leasing in the area and roll back previous approvals for development plans, according to E&E News.
Blocking new coal mining on public lands at a major hub for the carbon fuel is the reason, The Hill states in its lead on Wednesday.
“The decision is to make no federal coal available for future leasing,” Todd Yeager, the field manager for the Buffalo office of the Bureau of Land Management, wrote in a filing announcing the move, according to E&E News. Yeager added that the decision will take about 48 billion short tons of coal off the table for mining and development.
The incoming Trump administration is likely to reverse the decision and open the area up for new coal leasing again.
Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), an opponent of the decision, will become the Senate’s No. 2 Republican next month. Senator Barrasso slammed the Biden administration’s decision and said he’d work with Trump to undo it.
“After the American people issued a stunning rebuke to President Biden, he continues to punish Wyoming communities,” Barrasso said in a written statement.
Wyoming’s senior senator said he would work with President Trump to reverse the executive regulations signed by Biden as his lame-duck term comes to an end.
Republican Wyoming Senator John Barrasso slammed the administration’s choice to end future coal leasing in the Powder River Basin, according to The Hill. “I will work with President Trump and his team to reverse this and other midnight regulations.”