On May 16, 2024, the Biden Administration's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) issued two Resource Management Plans that put an end to new coal leasing on public lands in the Powder River Basin which spans Montana and Wyoming. This is the first time any presidential administration has permanently closed public lands to coal mining throughout an entire region, and it is thanks to tireless advocacy from Sierra Club and our partners. Resource Management Plans serve as 20-year blueprints for everything that's allowed on public lands from outdoor recreation to mining for coal and drilling for oil and gas. The Powder River Basin currently produces roughly 40% of all U.S. coal, and 85% of the coal produced on public lands, making it a root contributor to the climate crisis.
This conservation win was nearly a decade in the making. It spanned three administrations, required two litigation wins under the National Environmental Policy Act, and many meetings with leaders at BLM and the Department of the Interior. Sierra Club’s litigation wins against BLM over the years forced BLM to (1) disclose the climate impacts of burning all of the coal, oil, and gas produced under the plans, (2) disclose the public health effects of this fossil fuel combustion–another first for BLM–and (3) consider a plan without new coal leasing as a way to address climate change. These wins, along with our other advocacy, ultimately led BLM to issue new plans for the Powder River Basin that exclude new coal leasing.
Sierra Club was represented by Environmental Law Program Senior Attorney Nat Shoaff. Environmental Law Program Attorneys Nathan Matthews and Aaron Isherwood helped develop and hone the legal arguments and strategies used in the two key cases against BLM and many rounds of public comments. Sierra Club’s Montana and Wyoming chapters; Beyond Coal and Dirty Fuels Campaigns; organizing, digital strategies, communications, and Federal Policy teams all complemented our legal intervention and helped us achieve this win for the climate and public lands.
Our statement from Sierra Club Executive Director Ben Jealous is here: BREAKING: Sierra Club Celebrates Biden's Historic Coal Mining Decision
Our joint press release with allies: Biden Administration to End Coal Leasing in Powder River Basin | Sierra Club