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Interior Department Mining Approvals Endanger Climate, Defy Obama Administration
Contact: Jeremy Nichols (303) 437-7663

Denver—In spite ofthe Obama Administration’s commitment to reforming the federal coal program toprotect the climate, Interior Department officials in the western U.S. are rubberstampingmore mining and more global warming pollution.

“Although our nation is moving away from coal, localofficials seem determined to maintain the status quo of more fossil fuels andmore climate change,” said Jeremy Nichols, WildEarth Guardians’ Climate andEnergy Program Director. “With the American West facing an increasinglyuncertain future because of global warming, it’s time to keep our coal in theground.”

The U.S. Department of the Interior manages publicly ownedcoal deposits, which are mainly located in the American West. 40% of all coal minedin the nation comes from publicly owned deposits. The mining and burning ofthis coal produces more than 11% of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.

On January 15, the Obama Administration announced a pauseon the leasing of publicly owned coal and committed to undertaking reformsto safeguard the climate, protect taxpayers, and defend the public interest.

In spite the Administrations move toward reform, InteriorDepartment officials are still opening the door for more coal mining and moreglobal warming pollution.

In appeals filed last week, Guardians challenged theInterior’s approval of two new coal leases. One would expandPeabody Energy’s Twentymile mine (also known as Foidel Creek) innorthwestern Colorado and the other would expandPacifiCorp’s Jim Bridger mine in southern Wyoming.

Coal from Twentymile is burned in the nearby Hayden powerplant and coal from the Jim Bridger mine is burned in the Jim Bridger powerplant, the largest coal-fired power plant in Wyoming.

In comments submitted last year, Guardians called on theInterior Department to rejectthe Twentymile and Bridgerleases. Interior instead moved ahead, opening the door for more coal to beburned in power plants, fueling climate change.

The appeals were filed before the Interior Board of LandAppeals, an administrative review board within the Department of the Interior.

For more information on the federal coal program andpublicly owned coal leasing, check out WildEarth Guardians’ seriesof interactive maps >>

click here >> For pictures of the JimBridger mine and power plant

click here >> For pictures of the Twentymilemine and Hayden power plant