Environmental and Natural Resources

Coal Communities’ Transition in Arizona Getting More Attention

by Michael W. Patten The local economies of many communities in the southwest are tied to the operations of large coal-fired power plants.  As those plants start closing, the communities can face significant disruption in their local economies through loss of jobs, tax revenues and other impacts.  How to address those impacts involves both federal […]

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MP

Coal Exports: The Trump Administration and Western States Take Action to Open Ports for Shipment of Coal

by Denise A. Dragoo On April 10, 2019, President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order seeking to address permitting and policy obstacles preventing the export of coal and other energy resources through West Coast ports. New port facilities and improvements have been halted or delayed by state, local and tribal governments in California, Washington and […]

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Welcome Reforms in Federal Coal Leasing, Permitting and NEPA Streamlining

by Denise A. Dragoo The Utah coal industry has benefited from recent reforms in federal coal leasing, permitting and streamlining of environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”).  During the previous administration, applications to lease millions of tons of federal coal reserves encountered significant delays in NEPA review and were ultimately halted by […]

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DD

The Trump Administration Delivers Much Needed Relief to the Coal Industry

By Denise Dragoo, Natural Resources Partner, Snell & Wilmer, LLP During the first six months of the new Administration, President Trump has delivered much needed relief to the coal industry. The President and Congress have been particularly effective at rolling back policies proposed at the end of the previous Administration. Half-way through this first year, a […]

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DD

Is Coal Down For The Count

by J. Matthew Derstine Last week Peabody Energy announced that it filed bankruptcy.  Peabody is the nation’s largest coal company.  The filing by Peabody comes on the heels of the January 2016 bankruptcy filing by Arch Coal, the nation’s second largest coal producer.  Over 26 coal companies have gone bankrupt in the past several years […]

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MD

Moratorium on Federal Coal Leasing Issued by Secretary Jewell

By Denise A. Dragoo On January 15, 2016, Interior Secretary Jewell halted federal coal leasing on public lands. Western coal companies are attempting to sort out the implications of the moratorium and exemptions set out in Secretarial Order 3338.  The Order places a “pause” on leasing for an indefinite period while the Secretary undertakes a […]

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