Interior Department Opens Up 13.1 Million Acres of Federal Land for Coal Leasing

The Department of the Interior (DOI) is putting up millions of acres of federal lands for coal leasing purposes, in line with President Donald Trump’s push to restore energy dominance in the United States, it said in a Sept. 29 statement.

“The Bureau of Land Management is making up to 13.1 million acres of federal coal available for lease, lowering royalty rates to strengthen competitiveness, and streamlining approvals for projects in Montana, Wyoming, Tennessee and beyond,” the DOI said.

The decision is guided by two executive orders signed by Trump: Immediate Measures to Increase American Mineral Production, signed on March 20, and Reinvigorating America’s Beautiful Clean Coal Industry, signed on April 8.

The decision to lease federal lands follows the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in July, which ordered the DOI to make land available for coal development. Making up to 13.1 million acres available for coal leasing is triple the benchmark set by the act, the agency said.

According to the DOI, multiple leases under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act are already underway, including the Falkirk Mine and Freedom Mine in North Dakota, as are major expansions of other mines.

“Together, these sales represent hundreds of millions of tons of coal and decades of energy production,” the DOI said. “At the same time, a reduced 7 percent royalty rate will help ensure producers can compete in global markets while sustaining revenues for taxpayers.”

The DOI said it was accelerating efforts to recover valuable minerals from abandoned sites and mine waste.

The department is working with partners to identify mine waste deposits and fast-tracking projects capable of recovering resources such as germanium, zinc, rare earth elements, and uranium. These are critical minerals used in energy production, advanced manufacturing, and defense tech.

“President Trump promised to put American energy workers first, and today we’re delivering,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said.

“By reducing the royalty rate for coal, increasing coal acres available for leasing, and unlocking critical minerals from mine waste, we are strengthening our economy, protecting national security, and ensuring that communities from Montana to Alabama benefit from good-paying jobs. Washington doesn’t build prosperity, American workers and entrepreneurs do, and we’re giving them the tools to succeed.”

In a Sept. 30 statement, Holly Bender, chief program officer at the Sierra Club, which is an environmental organization, said the Trump administration’s “reckless” actions would hurt Americans just to prop up the “aging and outdated” coal industry.

“Donald Trump’s plan doesn’t just saddle us with higher bills, he wants to lease millions of acres of public lands to mining companies and further slash protections for our clean air and water,” she said.

“Rather than investing in clean, affordable energy to power our country, more coal will increase deadly air pollution, poison our water with harmful heavy metals, and drastically worsen the health of our loved ones.”

Reinvigorating US Coal

The DOI’s latest decision coincides with a Sept. 29 Department of Energy announcement that it would invest $625 million to “expand and reinvigorate America’s coal industry.”

Out of the $625 million, $350 million will be set aside for coal recommissioning and retrofitting projects, along with $175 million for building rural capacity and energy affordability projects.

“These funds will help keep our nation’s coal plants operating and will be vital to keeping electricity prices low and the lights on without interruption,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright said.

Jill Tauber, vice president of litigation for climate and energy at environmental advocacy organization Earthjustice, criticized the latest DOE and DOI announcements in a Sept. 29 statement, arguing that spending taxpayer funds to burn coal and expand mining while rolling back health protections would worsen pollution and push up electricity bills.

“Clean energy and other climate solutions are driving significant growth in our economy, but this administration is choosing to throw its weight behind fossil fuel industries and stymie progress,” Tauber said.

Meanwhile, on Sept. 30, the DOI said the Bureau of Land Management’s coal lease sale in Alabama’s Tuscaloosa County had generated more than $46 million in revenue.

The lease grants access to 53 million tons of metallurgical coal, a key fuel for the U.S. steelmaking sector, it said.