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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 159 / Friday, August 20, 2021 / Notices
above, the last time the Federal coal program underwent comprehensive review was in the mid-1980s, and market conditions, infrastructure development, scientific understanding, and national priorities have changed considerably since that time. The Secretarys call also responded to continued concerns from numerous stakeholders about the Federal coal program, including concerns raised by the GAO,8 the Departments Office of Inspector General OIG,9 members of Congress, interested stakeholders, and the public. The concerns raised by the GAO and OIG were centered on whether taxpayers receive a fair return from the sale of federal coal. Others raised concerns that the current Federal leasing structure lacks transparency and competition and is therefore not ensuring that the American taxpayer receives a fair return from Federal coal resources, while also raising questions regarding current market conditions for the coal industry and related implications for Federal resources.
Stakeholders also questioned whether the leasing program results in oversupply of a commodity that has significant environmental and health impacts, including impacts on global climate change.
In response to the Secretarys call for a conversation to address these concerns, the BLM held five listening sessions regarding the Federal coal program in the summer of 2015.
Sessions were held in Washington, DC;
Billings, Montana; Gillette, Wyoming;
Denver, Colorado; and Farmington, New Mexico. The Department heard from 289
individuals during the sessions and received more than 92,000 written comments before the comment period closed on September 17, 2015. The oral and written comments reflected several recurring themes:
Concern about global climate change and the impact of coal production and use.
Concern about the loss of jobs and local revenues if coal production is reduced.
Support for increased transparency and public participation in leasing and royalty decisions and concern that the structure of the leasing program does not provide for adequate competition or a fair return to the taxpayer for the use of Federal resources.
8 GAO, Coal Leasing: BLM Could Enhance Appraisal Process, More Explicitly Consider Coal Exports, and Provide More Public Information, GAO
14140 Dec. 2013.
9 OIG, Coal Management Program, U.S.
Department of the Interior, Report No.: CREV
BLM00012012 June 2013.

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Support for increasing coal royalty rates because: 1 Taxpayers are not receiving a fair return, in part because the royalty rate should match that for offshore oil and gas leases; and 2 the royalty rate should account for the environmental costs of coal production.
Support for maintaining or lowering coal royalty rates because: 1 The coal industry already pays more than its fair share and existing Federal rates are too high given current market conditions;
2 raising rates will lower production and revenues; and 3 raising rates will cost jobs and harm communities.
Support for streamlining the current leasing process, so that the Federal coal program is administered in a way that better promotes economic stability and jobs, especially in coal communities which are already suffering from depressed economic conditions.
After conducting these listening sessions, Secretary Jewell determined that three areas of the program received the most attention from the public:
Concerns that American taxpayers were not receiving a fair return on public coal resources, that the program conflicted with national climate policy and goals, and that the structure of the program needed review considering current market conditions. To address the issues raised during these sessions, on January 15, 2016, Secretary Jewell issued Secretarys Order 3338, directing the BLM to conduct a broad, programmatic review of the Federal coal program through the preparation of a discretionary Programmatic EIS under NEPA, 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq. A Notice of Intent for the Programmatic EIS was published in March 2016, and a scoping report was published on January 11, 2017.
On March 29, 2017, former Secretary Zinke issued Secretarys Order No. 3348
Zinke Order entitled, Concerning the Federal Coal Moratorium. The Zinke Order rescinded the Jewell Order, lifted the coal leasing pause, and halted the preparation of the Programmatic EIS.
On January 20, 2021, President Biden issued Executive Order 13990, Executive Order on Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis. On April 16, 2021, Secretary Deb Haaland issued Secretarys Order 3398, which rescinded the Zinke Order.
The Departments programmatic review of the Federal coal program furthers the goals of the Haaland Order.
In announcing this review and soliciting comments, the Department notes that the regional leasing program authorized in the 1979 regulations has not worked as envisioned and, instead, the BLM has conducted leasing only in
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response to industry applications. Given previous concerns about the lack of competition in the lease-by-application system, as well as consideration of the Biden Administrations environmental goals, the BLM is beginning a new review of the Federal coal leasing program and seeks comments on whether the current regulatory framework should be changed to provide better mechanisms to decide which coal resources should be made available and how the leasing process should work, including when and where to lease. The BLM is also seeking comments on the following topics:
a. Fair Return The BLM is seeking comments on whether the bonus bids, rents, and royalties received under the Federal coal program are successfully securing a fair return to the American public for Federal coal, and, if not, what adjustments could be made to provide such compensation.
b. Climate Impacts The BLM seeks comments on how best to measure and assess the climate impacts of continued Federal coal production, transportation, and combustion.
c. Other Impacts The BLM seeks comments on other potential impacts on public health and the environment, such as the effects of coal production on: The quantity and quality of water resources, including aquifer drawdown and impacts on streams and alluvial valley floors; air quality and the associated effects on health and visibility; wildlife, including endangered species; and other land uses such as grazing and recreation.
d. Socio-Economic Considerations The BLM seeks comments on whether the current Federal coal leasing program adequately accounts for externalities related to Federal coal production, including environmental and social impacts.
e. Exports The BLM seeks comments addressing whether and, if so, how leasing decisions should consider actual and/or projected exports of domestic coal collectively or from any given tract and potential mechanisms that could be used to appropriately evaluate export potential.
f. Energy Needs Finally, the BLM seeks comments on how Federal coal supports fulfilling the energy needs of the United States.

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