Overview

• Interior will open about 13.1 million federal acres for coal leasing and speed approvals for applications in Montana, North Dakota, Wyoming, Utah and Alabama.
• The Energy Department committed $625 million to recommission and modernize coal-fired plants, including $350 million for near-term retrofits and $175 million for rural projects.
• EPA proposed extending by five years key wastewater pollution compliance deadlines for coal plants and opened a 60-day comment window on potential Regional Haze Rule changes.
• A recently enacted law reduced federal coal royalty rates to 7% from 12.5%, a shift the administration says will improve producers’ competitiveness.
• Environmental groups denounced the plan as costly and harmful to public health, while analysts question whether subsidies and rollbacks can overcome cheaper natural gas and renewables.