Current work in wildlife, rivers, public lands, and climate

Overturns 200 Million Ton Coal Lease in Wyoming; Thwarts Montana Rollback of Oil and Gas Rules
Contact: Jeremy Nichols (303) 573-4898 x 1303

Denver—In the lastweek, WildEarth Guardians overturned a U.S. Forest Service decision authorizingmore than 222 million tons of coal mining in Wyoming and forced Montana towithdraw a proposal to weaken the way it permits air pollution from oil and gasoperations.

“These little victories add up to big wins for the wildlife,wild places, and wild rivers of the American West,” said Jeremy Nichols,Climate and Energy Program Director for WildEarth Guardians. “To secure a clean energy future, weneed to transition away from dirty fossil fuels. These wins are exactly the kind of steps we need to take.”

In late March, the Rocky Mountain Regional Office of theForest Service “reversed in whole” a decision that consented to the leasing ofmore than 222 million tons of coal in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming. Although the U.S. Bureau of LandManagement issues coal leases, if leases include National Forests orGrasslands, they can’t lease without getting permissions from the ForestService.

In this case, the Forest Service consented to the issuanceof the South Hilight coal lease, which would have facilitated the expansion ofthe Black Thunder coal mine, the largest coal mine in the world. The lease included portions of theThunder Basin National Grassland in northeastern Wyoming. When burned, the coal would releasemore than 400,000,000 tons of carbon dioxide—equal to the annual emissions from87 coal-fired power plants.

WildEarth Guardians appealed the consent, partly over theForest Service’s failure to provide notice and an opportunity for publiccomment on the decision. TheRegional Office agreed, overturning the consent and forcing the Forest Serviceback to the drawing board.

“We can’t achieve a clean energy future by mining 222million tons of coal,” said Nichols. “Thankfully, the Forest Service will have to take a closer look at theimpacts of this lease and actually take into account public concerns.”

Also in late march, the State of Montana withdrew a proposalthat would have rolled back the way it permits air pollution from oil and gasoperations. In 2005 and 2006,Montana adopted rules that allowed the state to permit air pollution oil andgas wells after they were drilled, rather than before they were drilled.

After being sued by WildEarth Guardians, in January of 2011,the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed to disapprove this “leapbefore looking” approach to permitting air pollution, a move that, if approved,would have led to sanctions against Montana. Instead, the state withdrew its rollbacks altogether.

“Montana’s rules defied common sense, it would be likegiving building permits to a contractor after a building has already beenbuilt,” said Nichols. “Protectingclean air means ensuring we have safeguards upfront to keep pollution in checkbefore it’s released, not after it’s too late. We’re pleased that Montana has chosen to find a better wayto protect public health and the environment.”