“The federal coal leasing program continues to be a success for America, contributing nearly $12 billion over the past ten years from royalties, rents, bonuses, and other payments according to BLM.”
“Premature shutdown of coal-consuming plants is a trend already occurring due to the influence of an increasing number of environmental regulations promulgated for such plants. The robust marketplace competition that exists between coal and natural gas.”
In January 2016, the Department of Interior (DOI) announced a three-year moratorium on new federal coal leases while it completes a review of the federal coal leasing program. DOI’s Bureau of Land Management commenced the Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement review process in March.
As it assesses the issue of fair return to taxpayers, however, BLM is considering reform approaches that would significantly increase the costs of federal coal production.…