Markey Introduces Legislation to Reform Coal Leasing on America's Public Lands

Press Release

In an effort to reform the broken federal coal program that is potentially costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, this week, Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) introduced the Coal Oversight and Leasing (COAL) Reform Act (S. 1340) to modernize the program to protect taxpayers and end noncompetitive leasing practices and other weaknesses in the leasing program. Recent investigations of the federal coal program, including a Government Accountability Act (GAO) report released by Senator Markey and a review by the Department of Interior Inspector General (IG) have found numerous deficiencies in the federal coal program. Many of these problems have persisted since the 1980s, such as a lack of competition for federal coal leases. It is unclear whether American taxpayers are receiving a proper return on the more than 400 million tons of coal produced from federal lands each year worth billions of dollars.

"The federal coal program is rife with sweetheart deals, outdated regulations and mine-sized loopholes," said Senator Markey, a member of the Environment and Public Works Committee. "While the Interior Department has taken some steps to address the coal leasing process, we need comprehensive reform to ensure taxpayers receive a fair return on the sale of these publicly owned resources and the agency has the authority to ensure coal mining companies are following the law. Until reforms are put in place, American taxpayers will continue to pay the price and we will undercut the administration's historic climate goals by subsidizing the extraction, export and burning of this federal coal."

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