Feds authorize expansion of Rosebud Mine supplying Colstrip power plant

The federal government this week announced the approval of a massive expansion for the Westmoreland Rosebud Mine in southeast Montana, which supplies coal to Colstrip, the state’s largest coal-fired power plant. 

Under the modified mining plan approved by the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement on Monday, Westmoreland will be authorized to extract approximately 33.75 million tons of federal coal, and an additional 37 million tons of privately-owned coal, across more than 4,200 acres of surface land. 

Westmoreland Rosebud Mining, LLC, which operates the mine, praised the approval as a longtime coming, as the first permit to mine in the expansion area was submitted to the state back in 2011. 

According to a joint Department of the Interior and OSMRE press release sent Tuesday, the Rosebud expansion is the second-largest federal coal mine expansion approved by the second Trump administration, and is consistent with executive orders aimed at “Reinvigorating America’s Beautiful Clean Coal Industry,” and increasing domestic mineral production. 

“This administration is focused on unleashing American energy, creating good-paying jobs and restoring economic certainty for our communities,” Acting Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management Adam Suess said in a press statement. “By responsibly developing our domestic coal resources, we’re reducing reliance on foreign energy, strengthening national security and powering America’s future.”

According to the agency, royalties from the mine paid to the federal government are estimated at more than $9 million, and ongoing operations will employ more than 300 individuals.

But environmental groups that have long opposed the continuation of the coal mining industry in Montana decried the move as “disappointing.”

“I think it’s disappointing but not unsurprising given this administration’s decision to completely ignore the pervasive harms of fossil fuels, especially coal,” said Shiloh Hernandez, a senior attorney with EarthJustice, who has represented environmental groups that have fought Westmoreland’s expansion efforts in court. “By throwing their weight behind polluting fossil fuels, this administration continues its efforts to ignore climate change and impacts to the public from climate change.”

In 2019, OSMRE approved an expansion of the Rosebud Mine into project Area F, and Westmoreland has been developing and mining the area since then. 

However, later in 2019 a coalition of environmental groups, led by the Montana Environmental Information Center, sued the Department of the Interior alleging that the approval had violated the National Environmental Protection Act and Endangered Species Act. 

In 2022, a federal district court judge in Billings ruled that the federal agency had not sufficiently considered the environmental impacts of the expansion on surface water, greenhouse gas emissions, and hydrology in the Yellowstone River basin, and ordered a new analysis. However, the court order did not immediately require the company vacate the new portion of the mine. 

Subsequent requests to defer vacating the expansion, as the federal government worked through new environmental documents, have allowed Westmoreland to continue operating in the area, but not to the full extent of the newly approved expansion. 

Jon Heroux, an attorney for Westmoreland, told the Daily Montanan in a phone call that a process which began with feasibility studies in 2002 had dragged on for too long. 

“Frankly, I’d say if the U.S. is going to secure its energy future, and maintain even a remotely resilient domestic supply chain on mining and energy, we can’t have permitting timelines that take 20 years,” Heroux said. “And then to see it get wrapped up in litigation and have one administration delay, delay delay, and then finally get to go forward.”

Heroux said that OSMRE followed the court orders to more completely assess the environmental impacts of the mining expansion, and “even answered questions beyond the original court order.”

“This provides us certainty, it provides the capability for us to provide high quality coal to the Colstip power plant for years to come,” Heroux said. “We have a lot of folks to thank for this, including Trump, (Interior Secretary) Burgum, and … the entire Montana delegation for keeping DOI and OSMRE on track to get this done finally.”

“Huge news for Montana today,” Montana U.S. Sen. Steve Daines said in a statement. “The Rosebud coal mine supports the Colstrip Power Plant, generating jobs and revenue for our state, so the importance of today’s action cannot be understated. I look forward to working with the administration on more ways to fight for the future of Made-In-Montana energy,

Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte, who has long advocated for boosting the state’s energy sector, praised the decision as well. 

“With today’s decision, we are protecting good-paying jobs and securing more affordable and reliable energy,” Gianforte said in a statement. “I thank President Trump and Secretary Burgum for their swift actions to expand coal production and support this critical industry.”

The Rosebud expansion is the third coal mine expansion in Montana approved during Trump’s second administration, 

Rosebud is the sole supplier of coal to Colstrip, the state’s largest coal-fired power plant that has been a point of contention between federal and state officials and environmental groups for years. 

Those seeking to continue expanding the lifespan of Colstrip, which is majority owned by NorthWestern Energy, say the entire coal industry provides jobs for Montanans and low-cost, reliable energy to businesses and residents. 

But many conservation-focused groups have long argued that the plant does more harm than good by polluting Montana’s air and water, and investments in renewable energy would be a better alternative. 

In the supplemental environmental impact statement, OSMRE states that direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions from the expansion would “contribute incrementally to existing climate and emissions trends,” and comprise more than 20% of Montana’s total greenhouse gas emissions, with a total social cost of between $30 billion and $80 billion.

“The Rosebud Mine has been destroying water resources in the region for decades. The State of Montana has ignored the pollution emanating from this mine that destroys crucial water resources for agriculture and wildlife, and this federal approval will allow the mine to continue to do so for years to come,” said Anne Hedges, Executive Director of MEIC in an emailed statement. “The federal government is supporting a mine that supplies the dirtiest, most toxic power plant in the nation and driving up the cost of electricity with expensive coal in the name of a fabricated energy emergency.”

Heroux, the Westmoreland attorney, told the Daily Montanan it’s possible that environmental groups could sue over the company’s coal mining operations again; but it wouldn’t be over this particular expansion.  

However Hernandez, with EarthJustice, said environmental watchdog groups would “take a hard look” at the new environmental documents. 

“If they’ve been cutting corners or ignoring the law, we’ll assess what next steps are available,” Hernandez said. “… Montanans have a right to a clean and healthful environment, which includes the right to a stable climate system. It’s really hard to see how continued operation of Colstrip, which is economically expensive for Montana rate payers and more expensive than renewables, can justify its operations.”