An ambulance is leaving the Myslowice-Wesola coal mine in Myslowice, southern Poland, Tuesday, May 14, 2024 where two miners were killed, one went missing and another 12 were injured in a cave-in near the coal face. FILE - A truck carrying 250 tons of coal hauls the fuel to the surface of the Spring Creek mine, April 4, 2013, near Decker, Mont.
In response, the Biden administration is issuing plans that would stop further coal leasing in the region while preserving existing leases. The plans are subject to a 30-day public protest period before they become final.Jury: BNSF Railway contributed to 2 deaths in Montana town where asbestos sickened thousands
However, another Montana mine, the Spring Creek Mine, could run out of federal coal reserves by 2035 — more than 50 years earlier than if leases were to continue being issued, according toFourteen active coal mines in the region in 2022 produced almost 260 million short tons of coal — about 40% of total U.S. production.
Mark Fix, a southeast Montana rancher and member of the Northern Plains Resource Council conservation group, said the Biden administration proposal was a “commonsense plan” given the current state of the coal market.