COLSTRIP, Montana (AP) — Actions by President Joe Biden’s administration that could accelerate the closure of highly polluting coal-fired power plants and the mines that supply them are reviving Republican rhetoric about a so-called “war on coal” ahead of the November election.
The front line in the political battle over the fuel is in the Powder River Basin in Wyoming and Montana, a sparsely populated area of the Great Plains that is home to the country’s largest coal mines. It is also home to a massive power plant in Colstrip, Montana, that the Environmental Protection Agency says emits more toxic air pollutants such as lead and arsenic than any other plant of its kind in the United States.
The EPA last month adopted a series of rules that could force the Colstrip plant to close or force it to spend an estimated $400 million to pristine up its emissions over the next few years. Another proposal from the U.S. Department of the Interior would end recent leasing of taxpayer-owned coal deposits in the Powder River Basin, clouding the future of mines including Westmoreland Mining’s Rosebud mine, which supplies Colstrip with about 6 million tons of fuel annually.
Eight years ago, when he first ran for the White House, Donald Trump stoked populist anger against government regulation by pointing to former President Barack Obama’s anti-coal measures. The recent moves against coal have put the issue back on the table for Republicans seeking to unseat Biden in November’s election. Some Democrats in coal states also have concerns.
“This flood of new regulations will destroy jobs and break the backs of communities like Colstrip,” said Montana Republican Senator Steve Daines this week during a visit to the Rosebud Mine with Republican Governor Greg Gianforte. “What will change this outcome is an election and a new administration.”
Coal exploit in the U.S. has fallen sharply over the past decade as low-cost natural gas and renewable energy have expanded, but coal’s political importance remains as critics seek to further restrict the burning of the fuel, which is a major contributor to climate change and air pollution.
In communities like Colstrip, the industry remains a mainstay of the economy, creating jobs where workers can earn $100,000 a year, according to union officials.
The Biden administration defended recent restrictions on coal, saying they were necessary to reduce harmful pollutants, improve public health and take into account court rulings on climate change.
A Biden campaign official noted that coal’s decline has continued during Trump’s presidency.
“There is no war on coal, there is only a fight for our energy future,” said campaign spokesman James Singer. “Under President Biden, the United States is closer to energy independence than it has been in decades.”
Despite the ban on recent coal leases, the companies already own leases for more than 4 billion tons of coal on taxpayer land. And government officials say that’s enough to sustain mining for decades.
Supporters said a tougher crackdown on pollution from coal-fired power plants is long overdue. The law’s origins date back to 1990 amendments to the Clean Air Act that directed the EPA to set standards for pollution-reduction technologies.
According to Dr. Robert Merchant, a pulmonologist in Billings, Montana, research clearly shows that pollution from Colstrip and other plants is linked to health problems such as cancer, developmental delays in children and heart attacks.
“The problem with Colstrip or other large companies like that is that they understand the economics very well as they impact their balance sheets and their bottom line,” Merchant said. “Unfortunately, the health impacts are not reflected in their bottom line.”
Representatives of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe had called on the Biden administration to adopt environmental regulations to protect air quality on their reservation south of Colstrip.
Opened in the mid-1970s and later expanded, the power plant towers over Colstrip, a town of about 2,000 people. It is connected to the Rosebud Mine by miles of conveyor belts that ensure a steady supply of coal to the 1,480-megawatt plant, where it is burned to generate electricity for distribution throughout the state.
Brian Bird, president of Colstrip co-owner NorthWestern Energy, said EPA Administrator Michael Regan’s characterization of Colstrip during congressional hearings as “the largest emitter in the country” was misleading because of the plant’s size — one of the largest coal-fired plants west of the Mississippi. Bird said Colstrip is “in the middle of the pack” in terms of the amount of pollutants per megawatt of energy produced.
Some prominent Democrats believe the federal authorities are moving too quickly and too aggressively against coal.
Montana Democratic Senator Jon Tester said the EPA rules had “missed the mark” because it could cost Colstrip hundreds of millions of dollars to comply. In West Virginia – the second-largest coal producer after Wyoming – Democratic Senator Joe Manchin accused Biden of trying to “score short-term political points” by enacting the recent rules in an election year.
Tester is considered one of the most vulnerable Democrats in the Senate ahead of the election, as the Republicans would only need to gain two seats to regain control of the chamber.
His Republican challenger Tim Sheehy railed against the “Biden-Tester climate cult” after the announcement of the ban on recent coal leases. Tester spokesman Eli Cousin said lawmakers are still reviewing the administration’s proposal.
Manchin is not seeking re-election when his term ends in January. Republican Gov. Jim Justice is running for the seat, and the EPA rules could facilitate sway voters to his side as he faces Democrat Glenn Elliott, the mayor of Wheeling, West Virginia.
Elliott advocated for more green energy in West Virginia, but did not comment on EPA regulations.
EPA officials promised to work with the owners of the Colstrip plant “to help them find a path forward” in response to concerns raised by Tester and other lawmakers. Agency officials said 93% of coal-fired plants have shown they can meet recent air pollution standards.
“We have given the plants the maximum time allowed to meet the standards we are entitled to under the Clean Air Act – three years plus the possibility of a one-year extension,” EPA spokeswoman Shayla Powell said in a statement.
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Associated Press reporters Matthew Daly in Washington and Leah Willingham in Charleston, West Virginia, contributed to this article.
