Natural Resources & Energy

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced farmers who lost crops due to the irrigation tunnel collapse in eastern Wyoming are able to use their crop insurance policies.

On August 23, the Friends of a Legacy will be celebrating the official completion of a wild horse educational kiosk and highway designation.

The First Judicial District Court in Wyoming ruled in favor of a landowners group in a case considering the release of previously confidential reclamation documents to the public. It helps shed light on how Contura Coal West, LLC (Contura) is backing 20 percent of its reclamation obligations for the Belle Ayr mine in the Powder River Basin.

In 2017, Wyoming's Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) accepted the real property collateral bond. A certified appraiser showed that nearly 50,000 acres of property were collectively worth $26.7 million. It was appraised twice, and then reviewed by another appraiser, according to the DEQ.

Gov. Mark Gordon has signed a new executive order outlining the state's sage grouse protections. The new order reaffirms previous executive orders, clearing up some of the language.

A Washington state appeals court dealt another blow to a controversial coal export terminal. It reaffirms a regulator's decision made back in 2017. Judge Lisa Sutton found the state's Department of Natural Resources (DNR) acted properly in denying the Millennium Bulk Terminal necessary leases to begin development.

In 2012, Millennium introduced a full plan to build the largest coal export terminal on the West Coast and was seeking to ship about 44 million metric tons of coal per year. It hoped to add two large docks to its property in Longview, Washington.

A U.S. Department of Energy official visited the state this week after an invitation from Gov. Mark Gordon.

Several state departments are warning Wyoming residents about the risks of algal blooms.

Virginia businessman Tom Clarke, who recently came close to owning Westmoreland's Kemmerer mine, appears to be the back-up bidder in Cloud Peak Energy's asset sale. That comes despite his name not being immediately connected to the LLC in public court documents.

The business address of Aspen Coal & Energy, LCC (Aspen) matches up with two other Tom Clarke-led LLCs in Merida Natural Resources and Western Coal Acquisition Partners in Roanoke, Virginia. In the articles of organization for the company, the entity forming the company was Clarke Investments, LLC.

After more than nine months of searching for a buyer, Cloud Peak Energy has chosen its winning bidder. U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware Judge Kevin Gross approved the sale today with NTEC taking on all of Cloud Peak's assets including its Antelope and Cordero Rojo mines. 

Sheridan County has put partial fire restrictions in place for the time being.

In a recent collaboration with University of Montana, University of Wyoming (UW) researchers headed out to explore a little-studied area of the Greenland ice sheet. The team was headed by Neil Humphrey, a UW professor of geology and geophysics, and his graduate student, Nathan Maier.

Contura Energy is not yet the owner of Blackjewel's two Wyoming mines. But, in an earnings call, the company did give insight into their expectations for the Eagle Butte and Belle Ayr mines.

The West Virginia court overseeing Blackjewel's bankruptcy has authorized the end of 401(k) plans for all the company's miners. It was one condition of Contura Energy's purchase of the Eagle Butte and Belle Ayr mines. Many Blackjewel workers responded to the news with thanks on Facebook, one commenting "Hallelujah."

The U.S. Forest Service wants to cut out parts of its environmental review process. The agency says it's a way to speed up certain projects. But that has conservationists worried.

What do you think about proposed reforms to the Endangered Species Act?

View ESA Regulation Revisions here.

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The Trump administration has made several rule changes to the Endangered Species Act that they say will provide transparency while protecting species.