Federal lands larger than Delaware move closer to coming up for sale to coal mining companies

Economy·CoalFederal lands larger than Delaware move closer to coming up for sale to coal mining companiesBY Matthew BrownBY The Associated PressBY Matthew BrownBY The Associated Press Trump has signed a lot of papers in office

Getty ImagesFederal officials on Monday took a first step toward reopening vast areas of public lands in two Western states to new coal sales as part of President Donald Trump’s push to expand U

The Interior Department posal comes after the Biden administration, citing climate change, tried to end sales of the fuel from the nation’s most ductive coal fields — the Powder River Basin in northeastern Wyoming and southeastern Montana

The Trump administration is instead considering selling leases for coal mining on more than 2,600 square miles (6,800 kilometers) of federal lands in that region, according to documents released by officials

That’s an area larger than Delaware

The unfolding course reversal on using public lands to boost the struggling U

Coal industry stems from an executive order signed by Trump on his first day in office

It’s part of Trump’s broad push to increase oil, gas and coal extraction from publicly owned lands and waters in the U. , even as Republicans pull back support for renewable energy jects

A spokesperson for the Interior Department’s Bureaeu of Land Management said Monday’s announcement Powder River Basin leasing was preliminary and could change after a public period

The agency declined to say how much interest it expects from mining companies or how quickly new mines could open

Ashley Burke with the National Mining Association said coal companies have “ interest in additional leasing,” but declined to say how much acreage they might buy. “When we see our grid stretched to its limits with energy demand soaring, we must acknowledge our energy reality, which means reversing prior ill-conceived and punitive policies,” she said of changes to leasing under Trump

That’s comparable to emissions from 63 million gasoline-power vehicles, according to a government analysis. “Not only is new coal-leasing inconsistent with the imperative to arrest the advance of climate change, the coal plants that used to burn Powder River Basin coal are shuttering as more affordable, clean energy comes into the market,” said Jenny Harbine with the environmental law firm Earthjustice

Scientists say greenhouse gas emissions from burning coal is a leading driver of human-caused climate change that’s making weather more extreme, wildfires more frequent and destructive and water supplies less reliable

A federal judge blocked attempts made during Trump’s first term to alter the government’s management plan for the Powder River Basin, saying officials had not adequately analyzed potential health impacts from burning coal

Some mines closed in recent years as utilities turned to less-polluting natural gas to generate electricity

But Burke, with the mining association, pointed to two recent positive indicators for the industry: more U

Explore this year's list.