Trump Opens Federal Lands to New Coal Mining, Reverses Obama-Era Moratorium

j daniel benson
Aug 8, 2017 · 2 min read

President Trump is reopening federal land to new coal mining leases reversing an Obama-era moratorium. Last year, the Obama Administration imposed a moratorium on new coal mining leases on public land to conduct a three-year study to evaluate the coal industry’s environmental impact. Trump’s Interior Secretary, Ryan Zinke, lifted the moratorium stating the study was a waste of money and that coal mining on federal land is good for the environment because it promotes energy independence. However, it is not clear if the decision to reinstate new coal mining leases will have any demonstrable effect on job growth.


Reversing Obama-Era Regulations Won’t Bring Jobs Back to Struggling Coal Industry

The coal mining industry has been in steady decline for the last thirty years. The long-term loss of coal mining jobs is a function of three primary factors:

  • Increased automation in the coal mining.
  • Abundance of cheap natural gas.
  • Obama-era regulations making coal mining more costly.

Trump has repeatedly stated that deregulation alone is enough to restore the coal industry and restore “many thousands” of mining jobs. At a rally in Kentucky this year, Trump promised the audience that deregulation would restore the coal industry.

As we speak, we are preparing new executive actions to save our coal industry and to save our wonderful coal miners from continuing to be put out of work. The miners are coming back[.]

There is nothing the President can do stop automation or natural gas; consequently, deregulation alone will not save the coal industry.

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