Federal court cites human health, climate costs in rejecting coal mining plan

A federal judge late yesterday struck down two U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) resource management plans that failed to address the public health consequences of allowing massive amounts of coal, oil, and gas production from public lands and minerals in the Powder River Basin, including approximately 6 billion tons of low-grade, highly polluting coal […]

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.

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 […]

Westerners support reforming broken leasing system for federal coal, oil and gas

President Biden today signed several executive orders, including a pause on further leasing of oil and gas by the federal government, and a review of all existing leasing and permitting practices related to fossil fuel development on public lands. Federal mineral leasing programs have been repeatedly criticized by government watchdogs for wasting public resources. Additionally, […]

New Bill Tackles Unemployment & Abandoned Wells

WASHINGTON, D.C. – These days, skilled workers sit unemployed, while thousands of leaking, orphaned oil and gas wells litter the landscape of the West. An orphaned well is an unreclaimed well for which no owner or operator can be found, or where an owner or operator is unable to plug and reclaim a well. Orphaned […]

Conservation groups: Federal Powder River Basin coal plan violates court order

BLM Plans Govern Coal Mining of 50,000 Acres, 6 Billion Tons of Coal Conservation groups sued the Trump administration today to challenge a massive Powder River Basin coal mining plan that the groups say ignores alternatives to coal, oil and gas leasing and fails to publicly acknowledge the harms from coal combustion, violating federal law […]

Bankruptcies and Inadequate Bonds Threaten Taxpayers, Landowners with Orphan Oil and Gas Wells

In the midst of historically low oil prices and plummeting demand due to coronavirus restrictions, inadequate federal and state reclamation bonding requirements make it easier for deeply indebted oil and gas operators to declare bankruptcy and walk away from orphaned wells en masse. A recent report by the Western Organization of Resource Councils examining the […]

Powder River Breaks September – October 2019

September – October 2019, Volume 47, Number 5 On Saturday, Nov. 2, Powder River will host its 47th Annual Meeting at the Holiday Inn in Sheridan. This year’s theme, When Coal is No Longer King: A Conversation on Wyoming’s Future, will explore how the state’s economy must change as the coal industry shrinks. Denise Parrish, […]

Sheridan County Wyoming Public Lands Day Celebration on Sept 28th

Local Conservation Groups Host Event at Welch Ranch Conservation groups in Sheridan County are hosting a Sheridan County Public Lands Day Celebration on Saturday, September 28th, at the Bureau of Land Management’s Welch Ranch Special Management Area on Decker Road. The groups welcome the public to attend the event which starts with trail cleanup at […]

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.