Skip to content
  • About the Project
  • Meet the Team
  • Partners
Support Us
  • Support Us
  • Inside Energy
  • Inside Energy
  • Home
  • Podcast
  • Audio
  • Video
  • Data
  • Educators
  • IE Questions
  • IE Investigations
    • Energy According To Trump
    • Protesting The Pipeline: Standing Rock And The Dakota Access Pipeline
    • Your Natural Gas Boom Is Leaking
    • Feasting On Fuel
    • Reclamation Blues: The Lingering Legacy Of Fossil Fuels
    • Blackout: Reinventing The Grid
    • Denmark’s Road To Renewables
    • The Future Of Coal
    • The Fallout From Falling Oil Prices
    • The Oilfield Spill Problem
    • Energy And The New Congress
    • Boom 2.0
    • Dark Side Of The Boom
    • The Solar Challenge
    • The Pipeline Network
    • Coal Watch
  • Newsletter
  • Support Us
  • Get To Know Us
    • About the Project
    • Meet the Team
    • Partners

Inside Energy - Bringing energy reporting down to Earth

Inside Energy (https://insideenergy.org/2015/01/01/in-the-debate-over-carbon-emissions-what-is-at-stake-for-american-coal/)

  • Home
  • Podcast
  • Audio
  • Video
  • Data
  • Educators
  • IE Questions
  • IE Investigations
    • Energy According To Trump
    • Protesting The Pipeline: Standing Rock And The Dakota Access Pipeline
    • Your Natural Gas Boom Is Leaking
    • Feasting On Fuel
    • Reclamation Blues: The Lingering Legacy Of Fossil Fuels
    • Blackout: Reinventing The Grid
    • Denmark’s Road To Renewables
    • The Future Of Coal
    • The Fallout From Falling Oil Prices
    • The Oilfield Spill Problem
    • Energy And The New Congress
    • Boom 2.0
    • Dark Side Of The Boom
    • The Solar Challenge
    • The Pipeline Network
    • Coal Watch
  • Newsletter
114th Congress

Wyoming Coal Versus The EPA

By Leigh Paterson | January 1, 2015
More
  • More on 114th Congress
  • Subscribe to 114th Congress

Leigh Paterson/Inside Energy

Energy worker Brandon Allee shoots pool at Jake's Tavern in Gillette, WY.

Energy worker Brandon Allee shoots pool at Jake's Tavern in Gillette, WY.

Leigh Paterson / Inside Energy

Energy worker Brandon Allee shoots pool at Jake’s Tavern in Gillette, WY.

When Congress heads back to Washington in 2015, one of their first agenda items will be to block, delay or otherwise damage the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan. With the new Republican majority in both houses, and the GOP takeover of key energy committee positions, doing so could be a real possibility come January.

For coal states like West Virginia, Illinois, Montana and Wyoming, this fight matters; the Clean Power Plan aims to reduce emissions, in part, by shifting electricity production from coal to other sources like solar and natural gas. Right now, nearly 40 percent of American electricity comes from coal. If demand were to go down, the effect on these states’ economies could be substantial.

Brian Wenig, one of the lead engineers at the Cordero Rojo Mine proudly wears a "coal, guns, freedom" sticker on his hard hat.

Leigh Paterson / Inside Energy

Brian Wenig, one of the lead engineers at the Cordero Rojo Mine proudly wears a “coal, guns, freedom” sticker on his hard hat.

Take Wyoming, for example. To say coal is important is an understatement. Miners at the Cordero Rojo Mine outside of Gillette, Wyoming wear stickers on their hard hats with the words “COAL, GUNS, FREEDOM,” on them. Here’s why: According to Wyoming’s Economic Analysis Division, income from mineral extraction makes up nearly 75 percent of the state’s budget. WHOA!  Furthermore, about one third of that comes from coal. That’s how important coal is to the state.  It isn’t just a job or a way of life… it’s practically everything.

At Jake’s Tavern, a popular bar in Gillette, coal miners and locals gather on Thursday evenings for a weekly pool tournament. I talked to many people about the EPA’s proposed regulations and I received many answers. The general feeling, though, was this: We want to protect our environment, but the EPA should really stay out of our business. Brandon Allee, who has worked in almost every sector of energy development put it like this:

“Honestly, the EPA makes it a whole lot harder for most of us to do our jobs. My great-great-grandfather settled most of this area. I’ll tell you what, he would have shot half the EPA administrators. But that was what they did back then.”

There is also a sense that outsiders do not understand how things work. With its sub-zero winters, tiny population, and decades-long love affair with energy, Wyoming is unique.

“Our state does not need to be regulated by somebody from another state,” said Shawn Kistler. “It is better to have the people who live in a state regulate it themselves. And just like anything else, keep it small, it will regulate itself better. And you won’t get too much bureaucratic bullshit.”

Dragline removes overburden at Cordero Rojo Mine outside Gillette, WY. It is the third largest coal mine in the country.

Leigh Paterson / Inside Energy

A dragline removes overburden at Cordero Rojo Mine outside Gillette, WY. It is the third largest coal mine in the country.

It is within this context that Wyoming Senator John Barrasso will fight the EPA when Congress reconvenes in January. He is chair of the Senate Republican Policy Committee, whose mission is to “….advance Republican policies by providing positions on legislation, floor debate, and votes,” according to the committee’s website.

So what is the GOP’s strategy in 2015?  Senator Barrasso would not get into specifics, but reiterated his stance:

“The EPA, in my opinion, has now come out with more and more regulations which make energy more expensive. The costs are real, the benefits are theoretical.”

The best bet for Republicans would likely be to defund the plan by attaching riders to important legislation. Ultimately, though, President Obama would have veto power and it is unlikely that Congress would have the two-thirds majority vote needed in each house to override a presidential veto.

Editor’s Note:  An earlier version of this story misstated the time period during which Wyoming filed 12 lawsuits against the EPA.  That correct time period is between 2000 and 2014.  We regret the error.

More
  • More on 114th Congress
  • Subscribe to 114th Congress

Related Series

Energy and the New Congress

There's no doubt that the 2015 GOP ascendency in the Senate will affect the country's energy policy. Inside Energy takes a comprehensive look at what the 114th Congress could mean for Keystone XL, EPA regulations, energy efficiency standards and renewable energy generation.

Future of Coal

The coal industry in this country is under threat. Since 2012 nearly 60 coal-burning power plants have partially or completely shut down. But the dirty fuel still supplies 40% of our power and is critical, proponents say, to maintaining the reliability of our electricity infrastructure. We want to know: What is the future of coal in the United States?

Tags
  • Audio
  • Inside Energy News
  • Making Energy
  • Moving Energy
  • 114th Congress
  • Coal
  • Economy
  • EPA Carbon Rules
  • GOP
  • John Barrasso
  • politics
  • Senator Barrasso
  • Wyoming

About Leigh Paterson

Leigh Paterson is a reporter for Inside Energy, based in Wyoming.

  • More by Leigh

Read Next

  • Energy Efficiency May Be Bipartisan Winner

    Despite being one of the few issues with wide support from Republicans and Democrats, as well as private industry, federal energy efficiency legislation has been stagnant. In the new GOP-controlled Congress, the time for energy efficiency policy might finally be near.

Previous Post
2014: Inside Energy's Greatest Hits
Next Post
Energy Efficiency May Be Bipartisan Winner
Inside Energy is a collaborative journalism initiative of partners across the US and supported by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
  • Inside Energy
  • About The Project
  • Meet The Team
  • Newsletter
  • Contact Us
  • Terms Of Use

Search This Site

Browse Archives

© Copyright 2023, Inside Energy

Inside Energy is a member of the Institute for Nonprofit News

Built with the Largo WordPress Theme from the Institute for Nonprofit News.

Back to top ↑