The Bureau of Land Management is advancing the proposed West Antelope III coal lease-by-application project that would sprawl across 3,500 acres in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin.
In an environmental impact statement (EIS) released Friday, the agency said the project would allow Navajo Transitional Energy, or NTEC, to expand operations next to the existing Antelope mine in Campbell and Converse counties. It could unlock access to more than 440 million tons of federal coal.
The company did not respond when asked about its plans for the lease.
The move unravels steps the Biden administration took to halt mining in the Powder River Basin, which spans Montana and Wyoming and is home to 40 percent of U.S. coal production. Late last year, the Biden White House officially moved to end coal leasing in the basin, drawing a sharp rebuke and threats from Republicans and the mining sector.
