Federal coal leases fast-tracked in North Dakota; environmental groups object

FARGO, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor/KVRR) — Companies seeking to mine coal on federal land in North Dakota are gaining traction under Trump administration policies, with some environmental groups saying changes to the lease process skirt the law.

The Bureau of Land Management is holding a lease sale Wednesday for land at the Freedom Mine north of Beulah.

The Coteau Properties Co. has applied to lease approximately 1,070 acres containing an estimated 18.3 million tons of recoverable federal coal. If approved, the lease would allow continued operations at the Freedom Mine through 2045.

Basin Electric Power Cooperative operates Antelope Valley Station, a power plant near the Freedom Mine coal mine. (Photo by Jeff Beach/North Dakota Monitor)

Freedom Mine feeds the Antelope Valley Station power plant and Great Plains Synfuels Plant that are nearby and the Leland Olds Station power plant near Stanton. All are owned by Basin Electric Power Cooperative.

North American Coal is pursuing a lease to mine 800 acres of federal land at the Falkirk Mine near Underwood in central North Dakota. The mine feeds the nearby Coal Creek Station power plant. A lease sale is set for Sept. 10.

A coalition of environmental groups, including North Dakota-based Dakota Research Council, has filed comments opposing Falkirk leases with the Bureau of Land Management and the Office of Surfacing Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement — agencies that fall under the Department of the Interior. Fort Berthold POWER (Protectors of Water and Earth Rights) also was included in comments on the Freedom Mine lease.

The group Earthjustice took the lead on both comment submissions, saying newly implemented leasing procedures by the Department of the Interior are relying on a Trump administration’s energy emergency proclamation that environmental groups argue cut corners in the environmental assessment process.

President Donald Trump on Jan. 20 declared an energy emergency. It says the United States’ “inadequate energy supply and infrastructure causes and makes worse the high energy prices that devastate Americans.”

Scott Skokos, executive director of the Dakota Resource Council, said with stable electric and home heating prices, there is no energy emergency.

“The whole justification for this doesn’t make any sense,” Skokos said.

David Straley is manager of government and public affairs at North American Coal, which owns the Falkirk Mine and Coteau Properties Co. He said the company is trying to fill its obligation to the Coal Creek power plant as efficiently as possible. The company first applied for the Falkirk lease in 2019.

North American Coal revised its request in 2020 and 2021. Those requests were neither denied nor granted.

The 800 acres is projected to produce 11 million tons of coal over 15 years.

“North American Coal believes that these natural resources are for the betterment of the United States, for the betterment of our economy, and they help strengthen our electrical grid and our national security,” Straley said.

In addition to the energy emergency, Trump in April issued an executive order about revitalizing the coal industry, including removing impediments to mining coal on federal land.

Also this spring, Interior announced it would allow “alternative arrangements for NEPA compliance,” referring to the National Environmental Policy Act. It cited the energy emergency as allowing an expedited process.

On June 20, the Bureau of Land Management and the Office of Surfacing Mining announced a public comment period on the environmental assessment for the Falkirk Mine. The agencies accepted comments from June 23 to July 7. There was a public hearing in Underwood on July 7, but no members of the public attended.

A hill is cut away for mining coal at the Freedom Mine near Beulah, North Dakota, shown on Sept. 4, 2024. (Photo by Jeff Beach/North Dakota Monitor)

An April 24 hearing on the Freedom Mine in Beulah also had no members of the public in attendance.

One objection from the environmental coalition is that the Department of the Interior’s alternative process does not allow adequate time for a properly researched environmental assessment or for the public to comment on the assessment.

“In the past, the Department of Interior, the Bureau of Land Management and the Office of Surface Mining would notify people of a public comment period and try to encourage public involvement, but that’s clearly not what happened here,” Shiloh Hernandez, an Earthjustice attorney said.

Skokos said Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, the former governor of North Dakota, is “putting his finger on the scales for fossil fuels.”

Skokos predicted Trump’s energy emergency will be challenged in court, though it may not be challenged through these leases.

“Nothing is illegal until a judge rules on it,” Skokos said.

Acting BLM Director Bill Groffy said in a news release that the Freedom Mine lease sale reflects the Trump administration’s commitment to expanding domestic energy production. “The proposed lease will help maintain operations at one of the nation’s most productive lignite coal mines, supporting local jobs and reinforcing America’s energy security,” Groffy said in the release.

Straley said without the ability to mine the federal land, the company would “would literally go around” that land and it would be difficult to return to it.

“You kind of get one bite at the apple,” he said.

The emergency coal lease application for Freedom Mine says if the coal deposits are not leased, they may be bypassed. If leased, at least some of the coal would be mined within three years.

Other Earthjustice objections to the mines include pollution from the power plants.

The comments note that Coal Creek Station is designated by the Environmental Defense Fund as the largest mercury emitting coal plant in the country.

Earthjustice said that if the agencies regard emissions from the coal plants as an indirect effect of the mining, the emissions must still be included in an analysis required by the National Environmental Policy Act.

The Environmental Protection Agency had tightened mercury emissions rules under the Biden administration, which North Dakota regulators had called “a death sentence” for the state’s coal industry. The Trump administration has been rolling back environmental regulations.

“I would say the (mercury) rule’s on life support right now, and they’re not currently applying it to the Coal Creek Station or any coal plant in North Dakota,” Hernandez said.

Jessica Bell, vice president of external affairs for Rainbow Energy, which operates Coal Creek Station, did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Basin Electric Power Cooperative said in a statement that the cooperative and its subsidiaries have invested more than $2 billion in environmental control technologies. Since the cooperative began monitoring mercury in 2015, it has reduced mercury emissions intensity by nearly 80%, according to the statement.

North Dakota’s Lignite Energy Council deferred comment on the mining applications to the mining companies.

After Trump’s executive order on coal, the group praised the move as did North Dakota’s congressional delegation.

“President Trump’s leadership sends a clear message: America is done apologizing for using its natural resources,” Jonathan Fortner, interim president and CEO of the Lignite Energy Council said in a news release. “Coal is not just an energy source — it’s a strategic asset.”

The industry group says North Dakota has an 800-year supply of lignite coal, and “a proud track record of environmental stewardship.”

The group says North Dakota has never violated federal ambient air quality standards.

“We mine responsibly, reclaim the land after mining, and provide the most affordable, reliable power in the nation,” Fortner said in the release.