"Interior Secretary Deb Haaland on Friday revoked the Trump administration’s rollback of a federal coal leasing moratorium, but it’s unclear whether Haaland’s order fully reinstates the Obama-era decision.
Interior spokeswoman Melissa Schwartz said that Friday’s announcement takes no immediate action on coal development. “We are continuing to review an appropriate path forward,” she said.
The Obama administration temporarily ended coal leasing in 2016, saying it ran counter to its climate-change reduction goals. Former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke rolled back the moratorium in 2017, prompting a lawsuit and eventually a court-ordered environmental review. The Trump administration officially lifted the moratorium in February 2020.
It’s uncertain whether Haaland’s order legally re-establishes the coal leasing moratorium."
Bobby Magill reports for Bloomberg Environment April 16, 2021.
SEE ALSO:
"Interior Head Haaland Revokes Trump-Era Orders On Energy" (AP)
"Haaland Revokes A Dozen Trump Orders" (The Hill)
"Deb Haaland Scraps A Slew Of Fossil Fuel-Friendly Trump Orders" (HuffPost)
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