Biden cancels mining in 40% of nation's coal-producing region

As a major step toward addressing climate change, the Biden administration has decided to prohibit new mining in a crucial area that supplies about half of the country's coal.

However, this may not last long because the next Trump government is gearing up to prioritize maintaining American energy superiority, as Fox News reported.

An amendment to the Resource Management Plan (RMP) was recently approved by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) under the administration of President Joe Biden.

The amendment was intended to prohibit new federal coal leases and to make "48.12 billion short tons of coal unavailable for leasing consideration in order to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as a proxy for climate change," as stated by Todd D. Yeager, the field manager for the BLM Buffalo office.

The Fallout

The Powder River Basin in Wyoming is the biggest coal-generating region in the nation, and this judgment will prevent the federal government from leasing any more mining land there until 2041.

Roughly 40% of the country's coal comes from this area. But old coal leases can still be exploited according to BLM.

In an interview with Fox News Digital, members of Trump's transition team discussed the decision and emphasized the importance of the president-elect's campaign pledge to increase the use of energy produced in the United States.

From the Admin

"Families have suffered under the past four years' war on American energy, which prompted the worst inflation crisis in a generation," Karoline Leavitt, Trump-Vance Transition spokeswoman, said in a statement.

"Voters re-elected President Trump by a resounding margin giving him a mandate to implement the promises he made on the campaign trail, including lowering energy costs for consumers," Leavitt said.

When Trump assumes office, he "will make America energy dominant again, protect our energy jobs, and bring down the cost of living for working families."

Affected Area

Within the Miles City Field Office planning region, roughly 1.7 million acres are no longer accessible for coal leasing due to the Powder River Basin lease moratorium, which extends into northeastern Wyoming and portions of southeast Montana.

U.S. energy markets are shifting from coal to renewable energy sources and cheaper natural gas, according to the BLM letter.

The impacted state lawmakers, however, insist that the area is an essential source of renewable energy.