1/16/16

BLM suspends ecocide on some public lands

A new study by the U.S. Geological Survey confirms that much of the mercury in Lake Superior is the result of burning coal from as far away as China and as close as Minnesota.
Citing concerns over pricing and pollution, the Obama administration on Friday unveiled a moratorium on new coal leases on federal lands. The review process is expected to take about three years. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell announced the change in a conference call Friday morning. The federal Bureau of Land Management handles coal leasing on the approximately 570 million acres of land. In 2014, the most recent year with complete data, Wyoming received more than $555 million in royalties and revenues, with more than 200,000 acres covered by 102 federal leases. [NPR]
Even after spending over $350 million mercury emissions are still a problem in NE South Dakota.
An environmental retrofit of Otter Tail Power Co.’s largest coal-fired power plant has finished significantly under budget, but the achievement is clouded by worries that new greenhouse gas rules will curtail how much the plant operates in future years. At first, Otter Tail officials raised alarm with the EPA that the plant — the only coal-fired generator in South Dakota — would be forced to shut down, stranding an investment that costs residential ratepayers in Minnesota about $5 per month. But the final rule softened South Dakota’s carbon targets, and the utility officials no longer are concerned about shuttering the plant.
Read that here.

Gillette, Wyoming is a scary place. It's where ecocide is encouraged and mercury from coal burning power plants is released into South Dakota's watersheds.

Wyoming receives nearly half of all federal mineral receipts. (pdf)

Cross-state pollution? Say it ain't so, Marty.

How bad does it have to get before Marty Jackley files lawsuits against Black Hills Power, NorthWestern Energy, Otter Tail and/or the Colstrip Generating Station?



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