Powder River Breaks Newsletter November – December 2021
November-December 2021, Volume 49, Number 6 For the second year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Powder River held the Annual Meeting online via Zoom on Nov. 5 – 6. Unlike last year when we decided to forego the speaker and hold only the business meeting, we brought back the keynote speaker event. On the evening […]
BLM’s Coal Program Review Lacks Solutions
In response to the BLM’s comment summary report on the federal coal program review released in late December, western grassroots organizations voice the need for prompt and long overdue action to improve the process of federal coal leasing and mining beyond just the acknowledgement of a broken system. Bob LeResche, a Board Member of Powder […]
Powder River Statement on DOI Federal Oil & Gas Report
The following is a statement from Powder River Board member Bob LeResche on the Department of the Interior’s report on the federal oil and gas program, which was released on Friday. “While we appreciate Interior’s intentions to reform the federal oil and gas program, we hoped they would suggest more specifics. We believe more sweeping […]
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.
Powder River Breaks Newsletter September-October 2021
September – October 2021, Volume 49, Number 5 On Friday and Saturday, Nov. 5 – 6, Powder River will host its 49th Annual Meeting online. This year’s theme, Reimagining Wyoming: Buffalo, Sustainability & Transformation, will explore how buffalo can be part of the solution as the state adapts to a rapidly changing economy. Jason Baldes, […]
Western conservation group pushes ahead with lawsuit against secretive National Coal Council
On Wednesday, the Western Organization of Resource Councils (WORC), represented by Democracy Forward and Earthjustice Senior Attorney Shiloh Hernandez, pressed ahead with its lawsuit challenging the National Coal Council’s (NCC) refusal to allow public access to its work during the Trump administration in violation of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA). In Wednesday’s filing, WORC […]
National Coal Council Under Intense Scrutiny
Western Grassroots Groups Urge Termination or Restructuring of DOE Advisory Group A letter from members of the Western Organization of Resource Councils (WORC) details a highly inappropriate relationship between the National Coal Council, a federal advisory committee, and its corporate alter ego, National Coal Council, Inc. WORC urges Secretary of Energy, Jennifer Granholm to scrutinize and […]
Powder River Statement on Interior Federal Coal Program Review
“Review of the federal coal program is sorely needed and long overdue. As the coal market continues its decline, the American public, mining states, and coal communities deserve a fair return from federal coal. Leasing should match real market demand and minimize impacts on our air, land, water, and agriculture and to other economic activity […]
Powder River Breaks Newsletter July-August 2021
July – August 2021, Volume 49, Number 4 Powder River is excited to announce the launch of our new campaign to protect Wyoming ratepayers and promote a just transition from higher-cost coal generation to lower-cost renewable energy. Our new project, the Wyoming Association of Ratepayers, supports affordable, reliable, equitable, and environmentally responsible electricity. We stand […]
Report on Federal Leasing Pause Finds No Dip Western States’ Economies
The pause on oil and gas leasing President Biden ordered upon taking office has a minimal effect on national and western regional economies, according to a new report by the Conservation Economics Institute (CEI). In fact, the analysis finds that the oil and gas industry currently holds leases worth decades of drilling opportunities. The study, “Economic Effects […]
