June 6 (UPI) — The Department of the Interior on Friday announced approval of a mining plan modification for Bull Mountains coal mine in Montana. It authorizes Signal Peak Energy LLC to mine roughly 22.8 million tons of federal coal.
It also permits the company to mine 34.5 million tons of adjacent non-federal coal.
The mine is in Musselshell and Yellowstone counties and exports coal to Japan and South Korea.
“By unlocking access to coal in America, we are not only fueling jobs here at home, but we are also standing shoulder-to-shoulder with our allies abroad,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a statement.
The Trump administration policy of increasing fossil fuel production stands in stark contrast to Biden administration policies.
In October 2024 the Biden administration announced $428 million in funding for 14 federal energy projects in small towns historically known for coal production.
The Trump administration is in the process of attempting to undo that clean energy approach while doubling down on coal, oil and gas production.
For the Bulls Mountain coal mine, the Interior Department said Friday it is using emergency permitting procedures to disregard normal environmental review.
The Interior Department said in an April statement that the procedures reduce what would normally be “a multi-year review process down to just 28 days at most.”
The department asserts that the procedures using the radically shortened review process still upholds environmental standards.
“The Bull Mountains project is proof that we can meet urgent energy needs, work with local communities and uphold strong environmental standards,” Acting Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management Adam Suess in a statement.
The Interior Department said it is using “alternative arrangements” for compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act, the 1969 law requiring federal agencies to assess potential environmental effects of their decisions.
According to the Interior Department, “These alternative arrangements apply both to actions not likely to have significant environmental impacts and to actions likely to have significant environmental impacts.”
The Trump administration is using a so-called national energy emergency declared by President Donald Trump on Jan. 20 to avoid fully complying with full environmental regulations agencies would normally have to follow.
Under the alternative arrangements, companies would notify the department they want those alternative arrangements.
The official responsible for reviewing the application would then “prepare a focused, concise, and timely environmental impact statement addressing the purpose and need for the proposed action, alternatives, and a brief description of environmental effects.”
According to the Interior Department, the Bull Mountains project is expected to generate “over $1 billion in combined local, state and county economic benefits, including wages, taxes and business activity.”
