Last week, TCS hosted a briefing on the reforms necessary to fix the federal coal program. Panelists included TCS’ President Ryan Alexander, Dan Bucks, a former Montana Director of Revenue, and Sara Kendall of the Western Organization of Resource Councils (WORC).

Federal coal is a significant part of our nation's energy mix and also an important source of taxpayer revenue. But the federal coal program has long been a source of controversy for failing to provide a fair return to taxpayers. Earlier this year, the Department of the Interior announced a long-overdue review of the federal coal program, which begins with public hearings this week.

With the scoping period of the review about to begin, the panelists focused on aspects of the federal coal program that need reform and fail to ensure a fair return for taxpayers, like the non-competitive leasing process and reductions in royalty rates. TCS’ Alexander noted the billions of dollars that taxpayers have lost because of systemic problems that have existed for decades. Bucks discussed the lack of transparency in the coal valuation process and bidding, which leads to a culture of secrecy that benefits the industry and not the taxpayers. Kendall of WORC drew attention to reforms needed to the mine reclamation process and how self-bonds have put taxpayers at risk of covering cleanup costs, rather than industry, in the event that coal companies declare bankruptcy.

Following the discussion, panelists answered questions on the timeline for DOI’s coal review, the logistics of improving transparency of DOI’s lease bidding system, and the billions of dollars in liabilities held by coal companies in self-bonds that could be left to taxpayers.  To learn more about the reforms needed to the federal coal leasing program, see TCS’ materials below.

Featuring:

Ryan Alexander, Taxpayers for Common Sense
Dan Bucks, Former Montana Director of Revenue
Sara Kendall, Western Organization of Resource Councils
 

Learn more:

• TCS Statement: Review of Federal Coal Program is Welcome News
• Blog: BLM Begins Review of Federal Coal Leasing Program
• Fact Sheet: Time to Revisit Coal Self-Bonding Requirements
• Fact Sheet: Royalty Rate Reductions on Federal Coal Leases: 1990-2013
• Report: Federal Coal Leasing: Fair Market Value and a Fair Return for the American Taxpayer