Sponsors (5)
The bill speeds and clarifies federal coal leasing—benefiting energy companies and some local economies—but does so at the expense of higher local pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, reduced public and tribal procedural protections, additional local fiscal and health burdens, and potential legal uncertainty.
Energy companies and federal lease applicants will get faster, more certain leasing decisions and clearer policy about whether the 2016 restrictions (Order 3338) apply, shortening timelines for approvals.
Workers and local businesses in coal-producing areas may see job creation and increased local economic activity from new or accelerated leasing and mining.
Removes management constraints for federal leasing officials (ending implementation of Order 3338), simplifying agency implementation and internal decision-making.
Residents near federal coal operations (including rural and tribal communities) will face increased local air and water pollution and associated health risks if leasing and mining accelerate.
Enabling more coal extraction and combustion is likely to increase greenhouse gas emissions and could slow the broader transition away from coal, worsening national climate impacts.
Shortened NEPA timelines and the rollback of Order 3338 protections reduce public participation, environmental review rigor, and procedural protections for tribal and other local stakeholders.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Requires Interior to quickly finish required NEPA and administrative steps to grant pending federal coal lease applications and to enable mining on awarded leases, and nullifies Secretarial Order 3338.
Official title: To require the Secretary of the Interior to take certain actions with respect to certain qualified coal applications, and for other purposes.
Introduced January 9, 2025 by Harriet Hageman · Last progress January 9, 2025
Directs the Interior Department to quickly finish environmental and administrative actions needed to issue and activate pending coal lease applications and to approve previously awarded coal leases so mining can start, and it nullifies a prior Secretarial Order (3338) that limited the federal coal leasing program. The law requires the Secretary of the Interior to publish draft environmental assessments where needed, set fair market value, take intermediate steps, and grant each qualified lease application “as soon as practicable” after enactment.