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Powder River’s 2022 Annual Report

To read the full report, please download the PDF .
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The Benefits & Costs of Net Metering Solar Distributed Generation in Wyoming

The Benefits and Costs of Net Metering Solar Distributed Generation in Wyoming June 13, 2022 Report authors: R. Thomas Beach & Patrick G. McGuire of Crossborder Energy To read the full report, download the PDF. To read the Executive Summary, download the PDF.
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Powder River’s 2021 Annual Report

This is Powder River Basin Resource Council's 2021 Annual Report. To read the full report, please download the PDF.
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Lessons from History: Wyoming’s 30 Years of Failed Coal Upgrading Projects

This report traces the state’s legacy of coal upgrading projects from the 1980s to the present. The Resource Council researched sixteen different public and private projects that were attempted during the past thirty years and found that only one successfully created a marketable product. The report offers the fifteen failed...
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Powder River’s 2020 Annual Report

This is Powder River Basin Resource Council's 2020 Annual Report. To read the full report, please download the PDF.
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“When Coal is No Longer King” Panel Discussion

Watch the panel discussion, When Coal is No Longer King from Powder River's 47th Annual Meeting on November 2, 2019. This year’s theme explored how the state’s economy must change as the coal industry shrinks. Panelists Denise Parrish, Deputy Administrator of the Wyoming Office of Consumer Advocate; Robin Cooley, Director of...
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Powder River’s 2019 Annual Report

This is Powder River Basin Resource Council's 2019 Annual Report. To read the full report, please download the PDF.
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Filings for 2016 Valuation Rule Lawsuit

July 25, 2019 Natural Resources Defense Council, Northern Plains Resource Council, Powder River Basin Resource Council, The Wilderness Society, and  Western Organization of Resource Councils (collectively, Conservation Groups), by and through their counsel, respectfully move to intervene as Respondents in the above-captioned matter. The Conservation Groups move to intervene as...
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Letter to OSMRE Regarding Blackjewel Bankruptcy

July 15, 2019 Dear Acting Director Owens, On behalf of our millions of members, many of whom live in areas directly affected by coal mining operations, the undersigned organizations write to you to express our concerns about Blackjewel/Revelation Energy’s bankruptcy filing that occurred on July 1, 2019. We ask that...
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Ramaco by the Numbers

Taking a closer look at the numbers for Ramaco’s proposed Brook Coal Mine near Sheridan. The math doesn’t add up. To read the full report, download the PDF.
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Powder River’s 2018 Annual Report

November 4, 2018 This is Powder River Basin Resource Council's 2018 Annual Report. To read the full report, please download the PDF.
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Powder River Comments to EPA on “Affordable Clean Energy Rule”

October 31, 2018 Environmental Protection Agency EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), Mail Code 28221T 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20460 Submitted via electronic mail to: a-and-r-Docket@epa.gov Re: Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2017-0355 Dear Acting Administrator Wheeler: On behalf of the members of the Powder River Basin Resource Council, thank you for...
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Ad Valorem Taxes in Wyoming: Proposed Improvements

Our original report in January 2018 (Delinquent Mineral Taxes and Budget Deficits: A Case for Reform) detailed Wyoming's heavy dependence on mineral taxes to fund state and local government services. We discussed the fact that Wyoming gets more than 70% of our total revenue from taxes on mineral extraction and...
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Reclaim Wyoming: Prioritize Coal Mine Reclamation

Wyoming’s coal mining legacy dates back to the arrival of the Union Pacific Railroad in 1897.1 The state is home to some of the largest coal mines on earth, including the top eight active U.S. mines. Combined, Wyoming mines account for 41% of coal production in the U.S., about the...
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GAO Report on Coal Mine Self-Bonding March 2018

Coal accounts for 17 percent of domestic energy production. SMCRA requires coal mine operators to reclaim lands that were disturbed during mining and to submit a financial assurance in an amount sufficient to ensure that adequate funds will be available to complete reclamation if the operator does not do so....
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Petition to Amend Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality Rules on Self-Bonding

The Resource Council, along with its over 1,000 members throughout the state, advocates for the conservation of Wyoming’s unique land, mineral, water, and clean air resources consistent with responsible use of those resources to sustain the livelihood of present and future generations. Since its founding in 1973, the Resource Council...
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WORC Report Finds Coal Self-Bonding Unnecessary and Risky

April 5, 2018 The practice of self-bonding at coal mines could be ended today without a significant impact to the coal mining industry. That’s the conclusion of a new report, Now is the Time to End Self-Bonding, which points out that self-bonds in the West have hit a historic low,...
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Now Is the Time to End Self-Bonding

In the eight months between August 2015 and April 2016, the three largest coal companies in the United States all filed for bankruptcy: Peabody Energy, Arch Coal, and Alpha Natural Resources. Between them, they had pledged $2.3 billion of self-bonds in support of mine cleanup, known as “reclamation.” Coal companies...
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RENEWyoming: Solar Stories from the Cowboy State

RENEWyoming was born in response to a growing trend of solar installation in Wyoming. Across the state, more people are installing solar panels than ever before. Wyoming is not alone. Nationally and globally solar cell technology has improved and prices have come down accordingly, spurring an increase in installation. People...
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Renewable Energy Facts & Falsehoods

This factsheet untangles the facts and fiction surrounding renewable energy subsides. To read the factsheet, download the PDF.
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7 Point Plan to Protect Groundwater

This report recommends that Wyoming implement seven specific actions to protect scarce and dwindling groundwater resources during the unfolding boom in unconventional oil and gas development. To read full report, download the PDF.
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Delinquent Mineral Taxes and Budget Deficits: A Case for Reform

Mineral tax revenue is extremely important to Wyoming counties and schools. Over the course of the past five months, Powder River reached out to treasurers in 12 counties and discovered a $42 million deficit in mineral tax collection. In our recent report, Mineral Tax Delinquency and Budget Deficits, we offered...
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The State of the Split Estate

This December 2010 publication provides a landowners’ perspective on Wyoming’s Split Estate Act, five years after it was passed. It was based on interviews To continue reading, download the following pdf.
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Cheyenne-Know-your-Rights-2017

Cheyenne Know Your Rights 2017

The Powder River Basin Resource Council and our Laramie County affiliate, Cheyenne Area Landowners Coalition (CALC), works with home and business- owners to advocate for increased setbacks and improved measures to mitigate air pollution and other quality of life impacts from noise, lights and traffic. In addition to the rules...
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A Living Legacy – Wyoming’s Fortification Creek Area

The Powder River Basin Resource Council is a grassroots organization of individuals and affiliate groups dedicated to good stewardship of Wyoming’s natural resources. The Resource Council was formed in 1973 and stands for the preservation and enrichment of our agricultural heritage and rural lifestyle; the conservation of Wyoming’s unique land,...
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Is Oil & Gas Drilling Coming to Your Neighborhood?

The Powder River Basin Resource Council and our Laramie County affiliate, Cheyenne Area Landowners Coalition (CALC), works with home and business-owners to advocate for increased setbacks and improved measures to mitigate air pollution and other quality of life impacts from noise, lights and traffic. To continue reading, please download the...
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A Landowner Guide to the Wyoming Split Estate Act

Background of the Law The Wyoming split estate act is a tribute to dozens if not hundreds of individuals—both in the state legislature and in communities throughout the state—who worked countless hours for three years to produce a law that provides landowners with some rights over oil and gas development...
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Our Future At Stake

On January 18th, 2003 the Bureau of Land Management released the Final Environmental Impact Statement on the development of 40,000 new coalbed methane wells to be drilled over the next decade in the Powder River Basin. Eight million acres in the Basin will be opened up to drilling. Over three...
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Powder River Breaks Newsletters

The Powder River Breaks Newsletter is published at the end of every even-numbered month, six times a year, and is mailed to members as a membership benefit. The Breaks covers a wide range of articles of interest to Wyomingites, including news about state and federal government actions affecting the natural resources and ranching heritage of the state, and Resource Council campaign successes, events, and other developments.

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Powder River Breaks Newsletter, January – February 2024

January - February 2024, Volume 52, Number 1 Last year, High Plains Power became the...
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Powder River Breaks Newsletter, November – December 2023

November - December 2023, Volume 51, Number 6 While daily life in the Equality State...
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Powder River Breaks Newsletter – September-October 2023

September - October 2023, Volume 51, Number 5 Powder River staff and members traveled to...
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Powder River Breaks Newsletter – July – August 2023

July - August 2023, Volume 51, Number 4 After more than half a century of...
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Powder River Breaks Newsletter, May – June 2023

May - June 2023, Volume 51, Number 3 In May, Powder River joined with Western...
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Powder River Breaks Newsletter, March – April 2023

At the end of March, PacifiCorp (which does business as Rocky Mountain Power in Wyoming)...
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Powder River Breaks Newsletter, January – February 2023

January - February 2023, Volume 51, Number 1 A Jan. 31 Bloomberg article by journalist...
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Powder River Breaks Newsletter, November – December 2022

November - December 2022, Volume 50, Number 6 After two years of online annual meetings,...
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Powder River Breaks Newsletter September – October 2022

September - October 2022, Volume 50, Number 5 Powder River turns a half century old...
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Powder River Breaks Newsletter July – August 2022

July - August 2022, Volume 50, Number 4 Despite temperatures topping 100 degrees, over 60...
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Powder River Breaks Newsletter May – June 2022

May - June 2022, Volume 50, Number 3 On June 13, energy experts from Crossborder...
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Powder River Breaks Newsletter March – April 2022

March - April 2022, Volume 50, Number 2 Wyoming’s Zero Emission Vehicle Strategy is the...
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Powder River Breaks Newsletter January – February 2022

January - February 2022, Volume 50, Number 1 Powder River, in partnership with researchers at...
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Powder River Breaks Newsletter November – December 2021

November-December 2021, Volume 49, Number 6 For the second year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic,...
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Powder River Breaks Newsletter September-October 2021

September - October 2021, Volume 49, Number 5 On Friday and Saturday, Nov. 5 -...
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Powder River Breaks Newsletter July-August 2021

July - August 2021, Volume 49, Number 4 Powder River is excited to announce the...
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Powder River Breaks Newsletter May – June 2021

May - June 2021, Volume 49, Number 3 Regenerative agriculture, a management system for ranchers...
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Powder River Breaks Newsletter March – April 2021

March - April 2021, Volume 49, Number 2 Wyoming’s dependence on coal means that the...
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Powder River Breaks Newsletter January – February 2021

January - February 2021, Volume 49, Number 1 In an effort to demonstrate widespread concern...
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Powder River Breaks Newsletter November – December 2020

November - December 2020, Volume 48, Number 6 In November, over 125 Wyoming citizens filed...
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Powder River Breaks September – October 2020

September - October 2020, Volume 48, Number 5 They’re baaccck! That’s right, Aethon Energy is...
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Powder River Breaks July – August 2020

July - August 2020, Volume 48, Number 4 In the summer of 2019, Governor Gordon,...
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Powder River Breaks May – June 2020

May - June 2020, Volume 48, Number 3 In June, Powder River kicked off a...
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Powder River Breaks March – April 2020

March - April 2020, Volume 48, Number 2 Powder River and many Sheridan County landowners...
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Powder River Breaks January – February 2020

January - February 2020, Volume 48, Number 1 Late last year, the Wyoming Department of...
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Powder River Breaks November – December 2019

November - December 2019, Volume 47, Number 6 On the evening of Nov. 2, nearly...
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Powder River Breaks September – October 2019

September - October 2019, Volume 47, Number 5 On Saturday, Nov. 2, Powder River will...
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Powder River Breaks July – August 2019

July - August 2019, Volume 47, Number 4 Early in the morning on July 1,...
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Powder River Breaks May – June 2019

Powder River Breaks May - June 2019 Volume 47, Number 3 Last month, after a...
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Powder River Breaks March – April 2019

March - April 2019, Volume 47, Number 2 Aethon Energy, the company that operates the...
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Powder River Breaks January – February 2019

January - February 2019, Volume 47, Number 1 By a unanimous vote on February 19th,...
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Powder River Breaks November – December 2018

November - December 2018, Volume 46, Number 6 On November 3rd, over 100 Powder River...
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Powder River Breaks September – October 2018

September - October 2018, Volume 46, Number 5 Award-winning conservation photographer and author Michael Forsberg...
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Powder River Breaks July – August 2018

July - August 2018, Volume 46, Number 4 In July, Powder River released a new...
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Powder River Breaks May – June 2018

May - June 2018, Volume 46, Number 3 So far, 2018 has been a great...
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Powder River Breaks March – April 2018

March - April 2018, Volume 46, Number 2 On March 23rd, Judge Brian Morris from...
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Powder River Breaks January – February 2018

January - February 2018 Volume 46, Number 1 Powder River members, affiliate Cheyenne Area Landowners...
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Powder River Breaks September October 2017

September – October 2017 Volume 45, Number 5 Powder River Pushes for Federal Oil &...
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Powder River Breaks November December 2017

November – December 2017 Volume 45, Number 6 45th Annual Meeting Highlights Diversifying Wyoming Jobs &...
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