Obama Ban on Coal Leasing on Public Lands Is Reinstated by Judge
A coal mound in London, West Virginia.
Photographer: Luke Sharrett/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Coal leasing is temporarily banned once again on public lands after a federal judge on Friday reinstated an Obama-era moratorium.
The ruling reinstates a 2016 order by then-Interior Secretary Sally Jewell banning coal leasing on federal lands pending further environmental review because of coal’s contribution to climate change. That order was scrapped in 2017 by Ryan Zinke, the Trump administration’s first Interior secretary.