06/20/2016
You may recall that in 2015 the US Department of Interior began a review on the federal coal program. Several listening sessions were held across the country for public comment last summer, and we had many community members in our region speak in opposition to any changes to the current program. Now, as the Department begins its second round of listening sessions, we ask that you consider speaking in support of our industry and against changes to the federal coal program. While the BLM claims that they are “particularly interested in gathering public input on the issues and policies that should be outlined in the Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement” on June 21 they are holding an official scoping meeting in Seattle where there is little to zero coal. Therefore, U.S. Senator Steve Daines has announced that he will hold a public meeting on June 21, 2016 in Billings, Montana to ensure that the DOI hears the voices that will be most impacted by their review of the federal coal program.
