Above: an “orange cloud,” toxic gasses sometimes created when blasting overburden in coal strip mines, drifts on the breeze, endangering communities downwind. WORC members living near coal mines applaud a decision by the Office of Surface Mining to again allow coalfield residents to prompt inspections and enforcement when coal mines violate the law. On April 4, 2024, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) released a finalized Ten Day Notice (TDN) Rule that restored agency procedures for responding to citizen complaints alerting the agency to potential violations at co ..read more

New Forest Service proposal intends to allow companies to build dangerous carbon pipelines and injection sites on public lands for permanent storage of carbon dioxide. On December 22nd, 2023, WORC along with Dakota Resource Council (DRC), Northern Plains Resource Council (NPRC), Powder River Basin Resource Council (PRBRC), and Western Colorado Alliance (WCA) sent a letter to the US Forest Service (USFS) in response to its proposal to use Forest Service-managed lands for carbon capture and sequestration (CCS). The proposed rule, “Land Uses; Special Uses; Carbon Capture and Storage Exemption” po ..read more

The National Coal Council evaded accountability, skirted federal transparency law, and functioned as a self-dealing industry trade association during the Trump administration. *** Update 11/23/2021: The Department of Energy sent a letter to the National Coal Council announcing that they will not be renewing the Council’s charter. DOE’s Jennifer Wilcox, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary wrote, “the Department is in the process of submitting a new charter, revised to reflect matters currently faced by the coal industry, workers, and communities, including priorities established by the Energy ..read more

Above: Workers assemble a wind turbine. Clean energy jobs are just one part of transitioning coal communities. Sign up for our newsletter! Western Colorado Alliance is organizing around the many opportunities for coal communities and Colorado’s economy to transition away from fossil fuels. In 2019, the Colorado General Assembly passed a series of bills focused on reducing carbon emissions, which have hastened the closure of coal-powered plants and mines across the state. Since then, Western Colorado Alliance (WCA) has been focused on how to implement a “just transition” as workers and comm ..read more

Federal action from our nation’s leaders would help millions of households struggling to pay utility bills. Sign up for our newsletter! All across the country, rural people are falling behind on their utility bills and electric cooperatives are struggling to meet the demands of our changing energy landscape. Our nation’s leaders can address both problems by enacting a bold and needed set of policies that would directly benefit rural communities and households. WORC has joined a coalition of other grassroots organizations from around the country to develop a platform of necessary and strategic ..read more

This article first appeared in WORC’s newsletter, the Western Organizing Review. Keep up to date with WORC’s newsletter Montana rancher describes how the current federal coal leasing program threatens western ranchers’ livelihoods and hurts other split-estate landowners. Last October, the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee invited 4th generation Montana rancher and Northern Plains board chair Jeanie Alderson to give testimony on how the national coal program affects western ranchers. The hearing was titled “The Federal Coal Program: A Bad Deal for Taxpayers and a Threat to the Climate ..read more

Powder River Basin Resource Council webinar series brings together experts to talk about the tools and resources available for a planned transition to a new, diversified Wyoming economy. Adapted from an article in Powder River Basin Resource Council’s August 2020 Newsletter, the Powder River Breaks. Sign up for our newsletter! Powder River’s debut webinar series has wrapped up after a successful run. Thanks in part to timely topics and qualified speakers, the series helped us achieve our purpose of getting a deeper conversation going on issues facing Wyoming.  As members know, Powder Rive ..read more

Coal Country Communities Deserve Action for Federal Coal Program Issues Send me WORC’s newsletter In response to the Bureau of Land Management’s Federal Coal Program Review Comment Summary Report on the federal coal program review released in late December, WORC members are voicing the need for prompt and long-overdue action to improve the process of federal coal leasing and mining beyond just the acknowledgment of a broken system. The new report summarizes the federal coal program’s many problems but doesn’t offer any recommendations for fixing the program.  “The report says it’s impor ..read more

This post was adapted from Dakota Resource Council’s blog. Send me WORC’s newsletter While funding for carbon capture and sequestration is being debated in Washington, the risky technology remains a bad deal for taxpayers and the climate.  There has been much talk in the news lately about the Democrats’ proposed reconciliation package, the Build Back Better Act. Republicans are unanimously opposed and there are splits within the Democratic party on what priorities to fund and how large the package should be. These debates at the Federal level have the potential to directly affect the ..read more

Greenwashing, corporate welfare, and bailouts are the themes of a flurry of coal bills in North Dakota’s 2021 Legislature. This story was adapted from Dakota Resource Council’s newsletter. Sign up for our newsletter! A major theme of the 67th North Dakota Legislative Assembly was the bailouts and corporate welfare being offered to the coal industry. There have been a significant number of bills brought forward by Senator Jessica Bell, who is employed by North American Coal Company. Many other coal bills have had multiple sponsors and support from North Dakota legislative leadership. Anothe ..read more