May 28, 2015 — Today the Interior Department released the Regional Management Plan (RMP) for the Buffalo Field office in Wyoming, which establishes the Bureau of Land Management’s priorities in the Powder River Basin, the nation’s largest coal field. The Buffalo RMP authorizes the leasing and mining of 10.2 billion tons of coal with 28 new coal leases[1], unlocking an estimated 16.9 billion metric tons of carbon pollution. In response to the announcement, Greenpeace Coal Campaigner Diana Best said,
“Even after Interior Secretary Sally Jewell acknowledged the need to make changes to the federal coal program in order to ‘manage the program in a way that is consistent with our climate objectives,’ her Interior Department continues to undermine President Obama’s efforts to address climate change by planning to give away billions of tons of publicly owned coal. If Secretary Jewell is serious about addressing climate change, she should stop giving away our coal, and take steps to keep it in the ground.”
A Greenpeace report last year estimated that burning these 10.2 billion tons of Powder River Basin coal would result in 16.9 billion metric tons of carbon pollution, and compared that to the 5.3 billion metric tons of carbon pollution expected to be avoided by the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan from 2020 until 2030. The graph below highlights those findings, as well as the 3.9 billion metric tons of carbon pollution unlocked by federal coal lease sales completed during the Obama administration so far.
Chart by Greenpeace.
Notes:
The Buffalo RMP and FEIS notes the 10.2 billion tons of coal expected to be leased on page 823:
“The BLM has estimated that it would issue 28 coal leases encompassing 106,400 acres with approximately 10.2 billion tons of coal and encompassing 106,400 acres in the two high-potential areas over the next 20 years.”
That section can be found in the “BFO Proposed RMP & Final EIS – Chapter 4 Part 1” section, as well as the “Complete RMP” document, both available here: https://www.blm.gov/epl-front-
Further steps, including approving individual coal lease sales, would be required before this federal coal could be mined and burned, so there will be additional opportunities to challenge the sale of this coal.
Interior Secretary Sally Jewell called for an “honest and open conversation” about the federal coal program and climate change on March 17, 2015. Her comments are available at: https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/
Contact: Joe Smyth, Greenpeace Communications, 831-566-5647, [email protected]
