Trump, Wyoming Delegation Kill Biden-Era Buffalo Plan, Revive Future Coal Leasing in Powder River Basin

Wyoming’s three-member congressional delegation stood alongside President Donald Trump at the White House this week as he signed a resolution wiping out a Biden-era land management plan that would have ended future federal coal leasing in much of the Powder River Basin.

The move is being hailed by Wyoming Republicans as a major win for the state’s energy industry and coal country communities.

The measure, passed under the Congressional Review Act (CRA), overturns the Buffalo Resource Management Plan Amendment (RMPA) finalized by the Biden administration in late 2024. That plan had adopted a “no new leasing” stance for federally managed coal in the Buffalo Field Office area, effectively shutting the door on new federal coal leases in key parts of northeast Wyoming.

With Trump’s signature, the Biden plan is officially scrapped and the Bureau of Land Management must revert to the previous management plan — and is barred from issuing a “substantially similar” plan in the future.

All three members of Wyoming’s delegation — Sens. Cynthia Lummis and John Barrasso, and Rep. Harriet Hageman, all Republicans — framed the signing as both an energy and economic victory.

“It was such an honor to be at the White House… to see President Trump sign our legislation officially undoing the Biden administration’s last-minute Buffalo RMPA, which would’ve devastated Wyoming’s economy and ended future coal mining in the Powder River Basin,” Lummis said, calling the move “a great Christmas present” for the state.

Barrasso said the signing marks the end of what he called the “Biden-era war on Wyoming coal.”

“Reversing this harmful proposal opens up thousands of acres for coal leasing and protects more than 4,000 good-paying jobs,” he said. “Together with the Trump administration, we’re unleashing Wyoming energy and getting America back on track.”

Hageman called the day a “victory for Wyoming and our nation’s energy security,” saying the law restores Wyoming’s ability to “responsibly develop its resources” and maintain leadership in US energy production.

The Biden administration’s Buffalo RMPA applied to lands managed by the BLM’s Buffalo Field Office in northeast Wyoming, covering about 780,000 acres of surface land, and roughly 4.7 million acres of federal mineral estate in Campbell, Johnson and Sheridan counties.

The amendment selected the no new leasing alternative, which:

• Declared “no BLM-administered coal acceptable” for future leasing in the planning area;

• Removed about 481,000 acres from potential coal leasing;

• Locked away an estimated 48.12 billion short tons of coal — enough, Wyoming’s delegation says, to meet US coal demand for around 116 years.

Wyoming leaders and coal advocates argued the plan would have hammered local economies, shrunk tax revenues and accelerated the decline of coal communities built around the Powder River Basin, which produces over 40% of US coal.

The Wyoming delegation introduced their CRA resolutions in both the Senate and House on Oct. 8, 2025. The resolutions cleared both chambers in late November, setting them up for Trump’s signature.

Under the Congressional Review Act, Congress can overturn recent federal agency rules and guidance by simple majority vote, with the president’s approval. Once a rule is overturned under the CRA, the agency is prohibited from issuing a substantially similar rule unless Congress authorizes it.

For now, that means Biden’s Buffalo RMPA is off the books, the old plan is back in force, and federal coal leasing in the Powder River Basin is officially back on the table — with Wyoming’s delegation already touting it as proof the state remains “key” to Trump’s vision of “energy dominance.”