Government Energy Policy, Business and Technology

Montana tribe, conservationists sue U.S. government for ending coal moratorium

Reuters: A Native American tribe in Montana and a coalition of conservation groups sued the Trump administration on Wednesday for lifting a moratorium on coal leases on public land without consulting tribal leaders and conducting a full environmental review.

"It is alarming and unacceptable for the United States, which has a solemn obligation as the Northern Cheyenne's trustee, to sign up for many decades of harmful coal mining near and around our homeland without first consulting with our Nation," Tribal Council Chairman and President Jace Killsback said in a statement.

The Northern Cheyenne Tribe in southern Montana said the administration had lifted the moratorium without hearing the tribe's concerns about the coal-leasing program's impact on its members and lands.

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