Republican states aim to protect massive coal mine from environmentalists

A coalition of 16 Republican-led states led by Montana filed a brief Tuesday in an ongoing federal case involving a major underground coal mine located in central Montana.

The states asked the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to rehear the case after the panel struck down a federal permit green-lighting Bull Mountain mine's planned expansion, according to the brief obtained by Fox News Digital. In April, the panel ruled in a 2-1 decision that the permit issued under the Trump administration had failed to adequately explain its evaluation of the proposed expansion's impact on global greenhouse gas emissions.

The Department of Interior (DOI) concluded in 2018 that the roughly 7,000-acre expansion of the Musselshell County, Mont., mine would lead to a minor 0.04% uptick in total U.S. emissions over the course of more than a decade. The agency's assessment came years after Signal Peak Energy, the mine's operator, first requested a permit for the expansion, a portion of which would be on land managed by the federal government.

"In short, the majority fails to find fault with the scientific analysis or methodology in the record, and instead substitutes its gut judgment that coal emissions cannot possibly be classified as minor given the 'threat presented by global warming,'" the states wrote in the brief Tuesday.

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The states added that plaintiffs in the case, a group of environmental organizations, had weaponized the National Environmental Policy Act to halt the mine's expansion in a "seemingly endless limbo."

"There was a huge environmental analysis done — this permit was applied for almost 10 years ago," Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen told Fox News Digital in an interview. "Frankly, Interior has studied the hell out of it. They've literally exhausted every scientific metric there is to exhaust here and that still wasn't good enough for these environmental groups."

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"That tells you this is not about science. This is not about actually showing science and showing your work here," he continued. "This is simply about obstruction and this is about paralysis by analysis."

Knudsen said environmental groups, which include the Sierra Club, WildEarth Guardians and the Western Environmental Law Center, have "alleged the kitchen sink" to stop the Bull Mountain expansion. For example, the groups have argued that coal train derailments associated with the mine would kill bears, the project would contaminate nearby water sources and that the mine would contribute to global warming.

However, the attorney general reiterated the DOI conclusion that the impact would have a minor impact on global emissions. He noted that coal production provides a key revenue stream for the state government.

"Every ton of coal sold is tax revenue for the state of Montana," he told Fox News. "That funds our public schools, our state government, our libraries, fire, police. That's a huge revenue for us. So, the federal government is literally impeding the state of Montana here."

The coal industry provided $43.3 million in tax revenue to Montana in 2021, according to the state's Office of Budget and Program Planning.

The Bull Mountain mine produced more than 7.24 million short tons of coal last year making it one of the seven largest underground coal mines in the nation, federal data showed. Under the proposed expansion, the mine would have access to an additional 176 million tons of mineable reserves.

If the states' motion is dismissed, the district court in the case could send the issue back to the Biden administration to reassess. Knudsen said Montana would be ready to file suit if the administration rescinds the permit.

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"Energy is way too important to the state of Montana. It's way too important to our national economy," Knudsen told Fox News. "Montana is definitely going to be watching this one very closely and if there's any change in the permits, or in the process, you could absolutely expect us to follow suit."

Coal-fired generation accounted for 21.8% of total U.S. utility-scale electricity generation, the second-largest power source behind natural gas, in 2021, according to the Energy Information Administration.

Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Utah and Wyoming joined the brief Tuesday.