Gordon, Burgum Roll Out Pro-Coal Playbook: More Mines, Longer Plant Lives, Less Red Tape

Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon stood alongside Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, and Energy Under Secretary Preston Griffin III to unveil a raft of federal policies aimed at jump-starting US coal — especially in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin. Framed as undoing “anti-coal” rules from the prior administration, the package opens more federal land to mining, steers money to keep aging plants running, and eases several pollution deadlines.

“Implementing key sections of the Big Beautiful Bill underscores the Trump administration’s drive to unleash American energy,” Gordon said, calling the changes a win for grid reliability, consumer costs, and coal communities.

He argued the moves will let some coal-fired plants slated for retirement keep producing power.

What’s in the toolkit

• Public lands access: Interior plans to open 13 million acres for coal leasing and direct agencies to identify coal resources, lifting barriers that slowed new leases.
• Plant money: The administration is setting aside $625 million to recommission or modernize coal plants — part of a broader push to keep fossil plants online amid rising power demand from data centers, AI, and EVs.
• Keep-running orders: DOE has already required certain fossil plants in Michigan and Pennsylvania to operate past retirement dates; the new policy expands that approach as a reliability backstop.
• Cheaper royalties, faster permits: A GOP tax law cuts federal coal royalty rates from 12.5% to 7%, and streamlines lease reviews — Burgum’s version of “mine, baby, mine.”
• EPA relief: The agency will delay seven deadlines tied to wastewater rules for coal plants and open a 60-day comment period to revisit the regional haze rule — part of a broader rollback slate.

Gordon cast the shift as a “win-win-win” for consumers, reliability, and local economies. He also pointed to a California Supreme Court ruling involving the Oakland export terminal as a potential opening for Wyoming coal exports to Asia, saying the new policies add momentum to that goal. His office highlighted ongoing partnerships with the Wyoming Energy Authority and University of Wyoming’s School of Energy Resources to market “clean coal” and coal-based products.

Coal’s share of US power has slid from about 45% in 2010 to roughly 15% in 2024, squeezed by cheaper natural gas and the rise of wind and solar. The administration argues two things have changed:

1. Demand is surging thanks to energy-hungry data infrastructure.
2. Retirements have outpaced replacements, raising reliability concerns.

Environmental groups blasted the plan as a subsidy for “last-century” power. The Environmental Defense Fund called it a waste of taxpayer dollars and warned of higher costs and pollution. The Sierra Club criticized the EPA’s wastewater delays, citing risks from coal ash and toxins like arsenic and lead. Clean-energy advocates also slammed simultaneous moves they say hobble renewables — like freezing offshore wind permits and scaling back clean-energy incentives.

Industry groups counter that the changes protect reliability and preserve coal fleets while the grid transitions. Interior’s Burgum framed the package as strengthening the economy and national security by boosting domestic coal and critical minerals.

The fine print — and the outlook

• The policies rely on multiple agencies moving in sync (Interior, DOE, EPA) and will likely face legal and regulatory challenges.
• Even supporters concede any coal rebound could be temporary, given gas prices, renewable cost declines, and utility plans already in motion.
• For Wyoming, near-term upside rests on lease access, plant life extensions, and export pathways — all areas the new policies aim to nudge.

The administration just gave coal a bigger lane — and Wyoming intends to use it. Whether that translates into a durable comeback or just a short-term boost will depend on market prices, court fights, and how fast the rest of the grid evolves.

With input from Sheridan Media and AP.