Wyoming leaders don't dig BLM coal lease change

New federal guidelines for reviewing how mining companies expand their coal leases have stoked concern among Wyoming industry and government officials of more bureaucratic red tape that will cost jobs. At issue is a new Bureau of Land Management policy that requires Washington review of certain public notices that local BLM offices previously had the freedom to publish on their own without approval from agency headquarters. The BLM says its new police is merely an attempt to improve its handling of coal lease applications. Wyoming is the nation's leading coal producer, accounting for about 40 percent of all U.S. coal production and directly employing some 6,700 workers. In order to maintain coal production, coal mines expand into new tracts containing coal deposits as they mine and reclaim tracts where they are currently operating. Since most of the coal lies within BLM-owned land in Wyoming, coal companies have to apply for and buy new coal leases through the federal agency. Because of the intense environmental scrutiny and public review associated with such applications, it can take years for a company to get permission to mine new coal deposits...more

It's about to get slower.