DENVER (AP) — Federal 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.S. fossil fuel production.
The Interior Department proposal comes after the Biden administration, citing climate change, tried to end sales of the fuel from the nation’s most productive 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.S. 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.S., even as Republicans pull back support for renewable energy projects.
The tax bill that Trump signed last week lowered royalty payments from 12.5% to 7% for companies that mine coal on public lands. The bill also has a mandate to make available for leasing 6,250 square miles (16,200 square kilometers) — an area greater in size than Connecticut.
A spokesperson for the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management said Monday’s announcement about Powder River Basin leasing was preliminary and could change after a public comment 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 “clear 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.
The Biden administration had calculated that an end to federal coal sales would reduce emissions by the equivalent of 293 million tons (266 million metric tonnes) of carbon dioxide annually. That’s comparable to emissions from about 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.
Fourteen active coal mines in the region accounted for about 40% of total U.S. coal production in 2022.
Some mines closed in recent years as utilities turned to less-polluting natural gas to generate electricity. Companies mined 512 million tons (464 million metric tonnes) of coal in the U.S. last year, the lowest volume since 1964.
But Burke, with the mining association, pointed to two recent positive indicators for the industry: more U.S. coal getting exported overseas and a surge in the amount of electricity generated by burning coal during the first four months of 2025 compared with the same period last year.
