On January 15, 2016, the Department of the Interior (Interior) announced that it would begin a comprehensive review to identify and evaluate potential reforms to the federal coal program. This review will be conducted as a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement that will analyze issues including “how, when, and where to lease; how to account for the environmental and public health impacts of federal coal production; and how to ensure American taxpayers are earning a fair return for the use of their public resources.”
This report highlights twelve policy and procedural recommendations for the review of the federal coal program. These reforms are intended to help modernize program and so that it can provide maximum net benefits to American taxpayers. The programmatic review should identify opportunities to increase revenue, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and align federal land management with U.S. climate change goals, paying enormous dividends to the public.