Biden Admin Bans Future Leasing In Top Coal Mining Region on Thanksgiving Eve

From the DAILY CALLER

Daily Caller News Foundation

Nick Pope
Contributor

The Biden administration moved on Thanksgiving eve to bar future coal leasing in the Powder River Basin, one of America’s most coal-rich regions, according to multiple reports.

The Powder River Basin, a region that spans parts of Montana and Wyoming, accounted for about 43% of U.S. coal in 2019, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The administration made its move to formally end coal leasing in the area and roll back previous approvals for development plans on Wednesday as Americans prepared to enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday, according to E&E News.

“The decision is to make no federal coal available for future leasing,” Todd Yeager, the field manager for the Buffalo office of the Bureau of Land Management, wrote in a filing announcing the move, according to E&E News. Yeager added that the decision will take about 48 billion short tons of coal off the table for mining and development. (RELATED: ‘We Get Overlooked’: Coal Country Not Buying Biden’s ‘Just Transition’ To Green Energy)

John Podesta, CCP Official To Discuss Climate Cooperation Amid Chinese Coal Bingehttps://t.co/WDONRqihv2

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) August 29, 2024

The Trump administration, set to officially assume power in January 2025, is likely to walk back Wednesday’s moves when they get the chance to do so, according to The Hill. The Biden administration signaled that it could be moving to end coal leasing in the Powder River Basin in May when it released its proposals.

Republican Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso slammed the administration’s choice to end future coal leasing in the Powder River Basin, according to The Hill.

“After the American people issued a stunning rebuke to President Biden, he continues to punish Wyoming communities,” said Barrasso. “I will work with President Trump and his team to reverse this and other midnight regulations.”

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Duane
December 1, 2024 6:06 am

Biden has already been fired, and the guy who announced the ban is fired too. This ban obviously is meaningless stupid-sharing. The Obama-Biden war on coal is officially over, and they lost.

Reply to  Duane
December 1, 2024 6:27 am

The world consumed 8.4 billion metric ton of coal in 2023, of which China 4.3 billion.

The leftish, Socialist Democrat cabal, which has been pulling the strings of puppet Biden from Day 1, is grand-standing for a few more days, has mandated, without any public hearings, 48 billion short ton (43.6 billion metric ton) be taken off the market.

Trump will immediately cancel that mandate.

Reply to  wilpost
December 1, 2024 8:13 am

.
CO2 from coal consumption is a blessing, because plants require at least 1000 to 1200 ppm of CO2, as proven in greenhouses
Many plants have become extinct, along with the fauna they supported, due to a lack of CO2.
As a result, many areas of the world became arid and deserts.
Current CO2 needs to at least double or triple.
Unfortunately, not enough fossil fuel is left over to make that CO2 increase happen.
Earth temperature increased about 1.2 C since 1900, due to many causes, such as long-term cycles, fossil CO2, and permafrost methane which converts to CO2.
.
CO2 ppm increased from 1979 to 2023 was 421 – 336 = 85, greening increase about 15%, per NASA.
CO2 ppm increased from 1900 to 2023 was 421 – 296 = 125, greening increase about 22%
.
Increased greening: 1) Produces oxygen by photosynthesis; 2) Increases world flora and fauna; 3) Increases crop yields per acre; 4) Reduces world desert areas

Reply to  wilpost
December 1, 2024 9:01 am

“Earth temperature increased about 1.2 C since 1900, due to many causes, such as long-term cycles, fossil CO2, and permafrost methane which converts to CO2.”

Agree with your whole post except for the CO2 “causes,” which have never been empirically shown.

All other things held equal, adding CO2 to the atmosphere might make things a bit warmer, but in reality the negative feedbacks render any postulated “effect” of atmospheric CO2 on temperature to be indistinguishable from ZERO.

Editor
Reply to  AGW is Not Science
December 1, 2024 1:22 pm

About right, but a number of studies by scientists trying to get a realistic estimate of CO2’s effect on global temperature suggest that CO2 may contribute a significant proportion of the “.2” part of the “1.2”. I suggest that “long term cycles” (or just natural factors if they are not cycles) contribute more than the “1” part.

Uzi1
Reply to  Mike Jonas
December 2, 2024 4:54 am

Same old song I’m not buying it , suggestions are not proof. If there is empirical evidence of CO2 causing a 1 degree global temperature rise let’s see it.

Reply to  wilpost
December 1, 2024 9:29 am

Most large arid places are products of major forces not involving CO2. The Intertropical Convergence Zone is one of those.

Of course there are new forces, mainly solar panels facilities and major concentration of wind turbines, that are creating new somewhat arid places.

Reply to  AndyHce
December 1, 2024 10:10 am

The cabal of the Biden administration mandating regarding coal (to appease the “leave it in the ground” folks), after 4 years of not doing so, is pure mischief, equivalent to throwing spiked nails on the road, or law fare, or social/economic terrorism.
.
Trump’s administration can undo that mandate.
After Trump, Vance will likely be President for 8 years

Reply to  wilpost
December 1, 2024 11:17 am

Funny they talk with tears in their eyes when they are talking about Amazonas beeing the lungs of the world. Fact is that these lungs need the CO2 in the air to produce that O2. And of course CO2 from fossil fuels will be part of that. The more fossil fuels burned the better the “lungs” in Amazonas works…

Bryan A
Reply to  daNorse
December 1, 2024 6:43 pm

What is done by Biden and not Congress can be easily Undone by Trump 47 without the approval of Congress as well. Although with Republicans in charge of both houses, Trump could probably get it Undone in a way that future Bidens couldn’t easily nix

Reply to  wilpost
December 1, 2024 9:24 am

Trump may cancel. Such things should not be within the powers of the executive branch, pro or con. However, a reversal may well be issued, then the Trump Administration will probably spend the next 4 years fighting lawsuits over it. If things don’t go well next election, the new Administration will immediately reissue the ban.

Bryan A
Reply to  AndyHce
December 1, 2024 7:06 pm

Coal is still needed, even in a semi reliable electric future where part time electricity becomes the norm, coal will still be required to refine iron oxide into pure iron then strong steel.
Also to refine silica (SiO2) into pure silicon for solar cells and all other electronic devices.
Oil and Gas will still be needed for smooth resilient road surfaces, Synthetic Rubber Tires (which will only last 20,000 miles on BEVs).
As well as lightweight components to make EVs with their thousand pound fuel tanks not so heavy and Wind Turbine Blades that won’t break bearings. As well as the 6,000 other things society is dependent upon

David Wojick
Reply to  Duane
December 1, 2024 11:43 am

Coal fired power is a mere remnant of its former self so they pretty much won. Like nukes coal was regulated nearly to death.

Reply to  David Wojick
December 1, 2024 12:16 pm

Of course. All regulations lead to death. Not one person has ever demonstratively lived longer or wealthier due to regulations. Life expectancy has gone down in America, which should be your first clue.

But plenty of lawyers, administrators and bureaucrats have enriched themselves using regulations during their lifetimes.

Uzi1
Reply to  doonman
December 2, 2024 5:05 am

Absolutely, regulations are exercises in wielding the power of unelected bureaucrats!

kwinterkorn
Reply to  doonman
December 2, 2024 4:12 pm

There is roughly one new coal plant opening per week in China, India, Africa, etc, with no slowdown in planned future coal-fired electric plants. Coal is alive and well in most of the world.

Bryan A
Reply to  David Wojick
December 1, 2024 7:07 pm

Coal fired power is only 1 facet of what Coal is used for.

December 1, 2024 6:07 am

re: “Biden Admin Bans Future Leasing In Top Coal Mining Region on Thanksgiving Eve

HOW is this ‘providing for the general welfare’ of the United States? (AS stipulated in the US Constitution)

Oh –

I happened to see this just this morning:: Biden “Business-Related Crimes” from the Report on the Hunter Biden laptop

https://bidenreport.com/#p=55

antigtiff
Reply to  _Jim
December 1, 2024 6:31 am

A House Committee has bank records showing millions flowing into the Biden Crime Family. Total silence from Crooked Criminal Joe….ban him and prosecute him.

Reply to  antigtiff
December 1, 2024 9:33 am

Newsom ought to be another target for federal and state attorney generals, for his involvement in conspiracies to destroy so many people lives.

abolition man
Reply to  _Jim
December 1, 2024 6:48 am

The Demoncats have been known colloquially as the “criminal party” for generations, what with widespread voter fraud and ballot stuffing being virtual rites of passage for young, Dim pols!
Sadly, the Repubicans have lived down to their reputation as the “stupid party!” Happy to play the part of the loyal opposition, the establishment RINOs have happily fed at the public trough for free, while the Dim party machines ran our major cities as an early form of ATM machine; dispensing cash and votes to qualified customers!
That all changed with Trump and the MAGA movement, which is why they have been using EVERY means at their disposal to get rid of him and punish his supporters! From the Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax to the Jan. 6th Fedsrurrection, every weapon, legal or extralegal was employed by the Uniparty to crush a fledgling populist movement and continue the looting of America from DC!
The next four years will be a test of whether the Ship of State can right it’s course and start working for we, the people, again! Even if you find Trump rather distasteful, as I do; you had better help push the cart to the top of the hill! If we fail the corporate elites will have little barring their path to total Western domination, and a world that would make Huxley and Orwell cry!

Reply to  abolition man
December 1, 2024 10:18 am

The Democrats know it is easier to get rich by grifting/grafting in government, than being in business, which can always be subject to a political $shakedown.

That is the main reason for having complete control over the Presidency, the Congress, and the Courts; calling the shots big time!

They hate the 6 to 3 split on the Supreme Court, and the Electoral College

Bryan A
Reply to  abolition man
December 1, 2024 7:17 pm

This is the L O N G E S T T I M E that I recall to have an election counted and certified. Must be some kind of Demomcrat hanky panky going on.

jvcstone
Reply to  _Jim
December 1, 2024 8:04 am

The constitution is very specific as to what “land” the federal government can own. and fast amounts of wilderness is not one of them. (see art I, ,section 8) Every thing known as “national” parks, wilderness, etc constitutionally belong to the respective states, and the People.

Tom Halla
December 1, 2024 6:13 am

Of course, this is just an act of administrative vandalism. It will, however, give their pet judges an excuse to block any further action.

Curious George
Reply to  Tom Halla
December 1, 2024 8:21 am

Biden’s last two weeks will be as successful as his first six weeks. A big friend of trade unions, his very first act destroyed 14 thousand well paying jobs on Keystone XL pipeline.

December 1, 2024 6:51 am

Bidenistas — the grift that keeps on taking.

2hotel9
December 1, 2024 6:55 am

And on day one President Trump will throw this in the trash and open all the lease areas President Twatwaffle has block the last 4 years. MAGA, beeatches!

Reply to  2hotel9
December 1, 2024 9:36 am

Then come many court battles, too many with party biased judges.

Reply to  AndyHce
December 1, 2024 12:22 pm

Oh no! There is an endangered tortoise somewhere.

Oh wait. That’s the American legal system in action.

2hotel9
Reply to  AndyHce
December 2, 2024 7:54 am

Nope. The precedent has been set. Joe did that! There is a DoJ/Federal Courts purge coming and the wailing&gnashing of teeth will be glorious.

Michael C. Roberts
Reply to  2hotel9
December 3, 2024 7:40 pm

Welcome back 2hotel9. I like you seem to have been in relative radio silence more often than not during the last few years. Good to hear from you again.
Regards,
MCR

2hotel9
Reply to  Michael C. Roberts
December 4, 2024 8:00 am

Just been busy, cold weather so more time for online shenanigans.

December 1, 2024 7:11 am

The Radical Democrats are a pathetic bunch.

A dangerous bunch if given any political power.

MarkW
Reply to  Tom Abbott
December 1, 2024 8:48 am

It was the Biden administration that proposed a Department of Misinformation, whose job was to monitor social media platforms, looking for misinformation and to provide “advice” to the operators of these platforms in how best to suppress “misinformation”.

rckkrgrd
December 1, 2024 7:26 am

This is another example of weak national governments targeting regions depending on fossil energy production for prosperity.
Virtue signaling in a desperate attempt to preserve a few leftist and alarmist votes. Areas rich in fossil-sourced resources are typically less rich in votes and provide safer targets in divisional politics.
Good political reasons for pushing the climate change agenda. Look to Canada as an example of crackpot mandates or should I say madness. Extreme leftist governance at a glance With mini examples evident in California, New York City, or British Columbia. Victims include Wyoming And Alberta. The U.S. was rapidly moving in the same leftward direction until your recent federal election.

Bruce Cobb
December 1, 2024 7:32 am

More coal production mostly helps the coal exporting business, not that that’s a bad thing. But what we really need, and would really help the coal industry would be reversing the trend toward so-called “renewables” and away from coal power in tthe US. That would help re-stabilize the grid, as well as make electricity prices fall.

December 1, 2024 7:58 am

Since Congressional legislation NEVER moves this fast, Biden’s “ban” is obviously going down the path of being an Executive Order. If he exercised that power tomorrow, it will only be in effect until President Trump effectively cancels it, most probably a few days after he takes office as President on January 20, 2025.

Bye, bye, Joe . . . I can’t say that it was nice seeing you.

MarkW
Reply to  ToldYouSo
December 1, 2024 9:02 am

Hopefully, the EOs are already being written. So that all Trump needs to do is sign them on his first day.

Bigus Macus
December 1, 2024 8:36 am

Is anyone listening or paying attention to him anymore? What is done can be undone.

Reply to  Bigus Macus
December 1, 2024 12:27 pm

And is he even doing it? Likely one of the leftist puppetmasters handed him a pen and said “sign here” with little if any awareness on his part what he was signing.

December 1, 2024 9:00 am

Biden is trying hard to do something, anything before he disappears, goes out to pasture at end of his term. So dumb, lame, actually embarrassing. First thing Trump will do is reverse this meaningless executive order !!

strativarius
December 1, 2024 9:04 am

Biden splutters and possibly not for the last time.

Is stitching up the president-elect considered to be cricket?

Reply to  strativarius
December 1, 2024 10:04 am

Trump had four years to contemplate his previous mistakes in being set up and he’s not falling for it again. He doesn’t have time for that. He’s going to be incredibly busy organizing and implementing his revenge tour.

strativarius
December 1, 2024 9:26 am

Following the UK example, how commendable.

Fran
December 1, 2024 10:01 am

Back in the mid 1960’s, a dairy farmer friend in southern Ohio contracted to have part of the farm strip-mined. The restoration contract gave him 20 acres of flat land, the only flat land on the farm. With it he was able to increase silage for winter feed for nearly 200 cows (and probably cash to redo the milking parlour). There was still plenty of hilly pastures planted with black walnut for lumber.

All in all, a very good deal.

December 1, 2024 10:36 am

Easily, and almost certainly, reversed. January cannot come soon enough.

David Wojick
December 1, 2024 11:41 am

The PRB coal story is interesting (I lived it). The 1990 Clean Air Act amendments capped power plant SO2 emissions with the expectation that the coal fired plants would add scrubbers. Instead most switched from local coal to low sulfur PRB quickly making Wyoming the source of over half the coal mined and putting a lot of miners out of work. They strip it in seams up to 20′ thick then ship it 1000 miles or more (which greatly increases CO2 emissions).

It is typically low BTU bituminous or even sub-bituminous. The plant people hated it calling it something like “dog dirt.” Their plants were designed to burn high grade coal. It is still likely over half of the steam coal but we now mine and export a lot of “met coal”.

The SO2 cap was due to the bogus acid rain scare so the PRB boom was just another green industrial misdirection.

Bob
December 1, 2024 12:50 pm

Biden really is a horrible person.

December 1, 2024 1:48 pm

It’s not just coal. They want to ban all mining, through edicts like this or by regulation. The WSJ published a graph last week that showed that it takes 29 years—that’s years—to put a new copper mine into production in the USA. And copper is essential to their Green New Deal ( look up how much copper is needed for each wind turbine) so good luck. Other critical metals are in worse shape. I’ve been in the mining business for over 50 years and it has been a constant battle.

December 1, 2024 3:19 pm

Executive Branch Policy Yoyo destroys investor confidence. No one wants to invest billions in a natural gas pipeline if the next administration or its bureaucrats shut it down with arbitrary reulations. The solution: revert to Constitutional government, where all laws, rules, and regulations that affect the public are enacted by their elected representatives in Congress, not unelected bureaucrats. And return all federal land not designated as national parks to the states. The federal government is the worst land manager in the country.

Sparta Nova 4
Reply to  stinkerp
December 2, 2024 10:10 am

The federal government is the worst land manager in the country.

Fixed it.

LT3
December 1, 2024 3:27 pm

Burning coal produces almost no water vapor and consequently produces less greenhouse gases than any other fossil fuel.

December 1, 2024 5:06 pm

This is a ridiculous move in terms of energy security because coal is our most abundant and reliable energy source for at least a few centuries to come. It can be burned with minimal pollutants in modern supercritical plants, assuming we ignore CO2 emission which, so far, have yielded only positive benefits given the greening of the planet and increase in biomass it allows. More importantly for those living in developing nations and often in poverty – removing coal from the market will inevitably increase the cost of the most affordable source of electrical generation we have. Once again the wealthy west is making idiotic unscientific decisions based on superstition that will do great harm to those who are poor and who have limited access to reliable energy.

Sparta Nova 4
December 2, 2024 9:59 am

More miners unemployed. More tax payer dollars going there and more debt accumulating..
Sound economics.

Is the /sarc needed?

gezza1298
December 2, 2024 3:12 pm

Can anyone in the Us provide a sensible explanation as to why it takes of TWO months for the new president to take over? In the UK the removals van is shifting the losing out of Downing Street the next morning.

Reply to  gezza1298
December 2, 2024 3:44 pm

gezza – it’s set by the 20th Amendment, Section 1:

The terms of the President and the Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January, and the terms of Senators and Representatives at noon on the 3d day of January, of the years in which such terms would have ended if this article had not been ratified; and the terms of their successors shall then begin.

Prior to that the inauguration took place in March – originally, at least partly due to the need to appoint cabinet members and get everyone to DC. When that became less of an issue it just stuck, probably out of tradition, until 1932 when the Amendment passed.

As it stands now, it would require another Constitutional Amendment to change it.

Rational Keith
December 4, 2024 1:10 pm

I’m laughing, just because some of that coal is being exported through Canada, via a dock on the Fraser River, upstream from the massive coal export terminal at Roberts Bank on the Strait of Georgia.

Warren Buffet owns big chunks of the Powder River mines and the BNSF railway that passes near the river dock.

I don’t know if any coal is exported from the west coast of the US, there is a port in Everett WA which is the western terminus of BNSF.

(Coal to Roberts Bank comes from the long-operated mines near Fernie BC in the Rockies of SE BC/SW AB.
Coal from the Peace River area mines at Tumbler Ridge is exported through the port at Prince Rupert BC, some may also come from old mines in Alberta. (Drive H16 west of Edmonton and you can see coal as well as glimpse a coal-fuelled generating station on the far side of a little park you can stop at.)

Rational Keith
Reply to  Rational Keith
December 4, 2024 1:19 pm

Companies are progressing toward exporting LNG from BC’s west coast. Beyond terminals now under construction, a tribal group wants to build one north of Prince Rupert
The gas will come from NE BC via spurs off the big pipes that run to SW BC and into the US.
AFAIK attempts to export from the west coast of the US have been blocked. (I understand there is gas in the Bakken petroleum formation of MT-ND. Xenophobes will want to get it to the coast of OR-WA to supplant gas from Canada. :-o))