Wyoming Congresswoman Introduces Bill to Cut Upfront Cost of Coal Production in Half
Congresswoman Harriet Hageman (R-WY) has introduced legislation to reform bonus bids for coal producers on federal leases designed to cut upfront costs in half.
One of America’s most reliable sources of affordable power is now being offered legislative relief after weathering decades of efforts to regulate coal out of business. Rep. Hageman’s bill reforms federal bonus bids under the Mineral Leasing Act to bring down the cost of coal production without sacrificing government revenue.
Harriet Hageman
Coal producers on federal land are currently required to make payments on an accelerated schedule of five installments over the immediate first four years following a lease. Slow permitting and development for federal coal leases, however, means bonus bid payments present significant financial burdens to fulfill upfront before revenue is even generated. Rep. Hageman’s bonus bid reform extends this fee schedule from a condensed five-payment structure to 10 equal installments over a longer timeline to reduce the initial cost of coal operations on federal lands.
“Americans are reminded every year how coal keeps us warm in the winter, and cool in the summer,” said Rep. Harriet Hageman. “Reforming bonus bids on America’s coal producers will reduce more barriers on affordable, reliable power at the heart of the Republican agenda for energy dominance. Energy security is national security, and Wyoming will continue to reinforce U.S. energy dominance with affordable electricity as America’s number one coal producer since 1988.”
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New WVU Study Shows Coal Drives $21 Billion in Annual Economic Impact, Over 36,000 Jobs for the Mountain State
The West Virginia Coal Association has announced the results of a new study by the West Virginia University Bureau of Business & Economic Research (BBER) documenting the powerful, far reaching statewide economic benefits of coal mining and coalfired power generation in West Virginia.
The report, titled “The Economic Impact of Coal and Coal-Fired Power Generation in West Virginia,” finds that coal mining and coalfired electric generation together produced approximately $21 billion in total economic activity in 2024, supported 36,249 jobs, and generated $3.7 billion in employee compensation across the Mountain State.
The study further estimates that the combined sectors contributed about $1.3 billion in select state and local tax revenue last year, including severance, sales, personal income, property and corporate net income taxes.
Key Findings
According to the BBER analysis, commissioned by the West Virginia Coal Association, coal remains a cornerstone of West Virginia’s economy despite longterm shifts in national energy markets.
Total coal mining impact:Coal mining alone supported an estimated $16.4 billion in total economic activity, 30,600 jobs, and $3.7 billion in employee compensation in 2024, while generating about $1 billion in state and local tax revenue.
Coalfired power generation impact: Coalfired power plants supported nearly $4.6 billion in total economic activity, 5,649 jobs, and $615.2 million in employee compensation, along with $315.1 million in state and local tax revenue.
Direct vs. ripple effects:The study estimates direct output from coal mining and coalfired generation at $15.5 billion, with an additional $5.5 billion in indirect and induced impacts as mines, plants, suppliers and workers respend dollars throughout the state’s economy.
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A Global Energy Security Shock
The conflict in Iran, which has now spread across much of the Middle East, is roiling energy markets. Not only has Iran in effect closed the Straits of Hormuz but oil and natural gas production across the region is coming to a standstill.
Qatar, the world’s second largest exporter of liquified natural gas (LNG), has halted LNG production following Iranian drone strikes leaving a yawning gulf in global supply. Some 70% of Qatari LNG is exported to Asia and 25% to Europe. The conflict and its impact on global energy flows has sent natural gas prices across Asia and Europe soaring. The European LNG benchmark has jumped more than 70% and the Northeast Asian benchmark has also jumped, hitting a one-year high.
For energy markets, there are echoes of the impact of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. That shock ushered in abrupt reevaluation of and re-embrace of the importance of energy security. And the same may be happening today. Just how long this conflict lasts and how disruptive it becomes are frightening questions with the war in Ukraine now in its 5th horrifying year.
Reinforcing the Value of Coal
As we saw in 2022, when energy security reemerges as the critical consideration, policymakers and markets turn to coal. To that point, Javier Blas, Bloomberg’s commodity and energy columnist, tweeted, “Side comment post-Qatar LNG shutdown: Asian countries got a huge reminder today of the advantages of coal for baseload electricity. Maybe also about the advantages of renewables. But a lot more about coal. Today's event will have important policy implications.”
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Why I Fight for Coal
Below is an Op-Ed by Virginia Congressman Morgan Griffith:
As Congressman of the Ninth District of Virginia, I am often invited to attend events at the White House, particularly on issues I am fighting for. In 2025, I attended such an event at the White House when the President signed into law my HALT Fentanyl Act! HALT Fentanyl permanently designates lethal fentanyl-related substances as Schedule I narcotics and helps law enforcement fight the opioid epidemic.
Another White House event in 2025 celebrated beautiful clean coal and featured several executive orders signed by Trump. One of those orders reestablished the National Coal Council. Under the Biden Administration, the executive council was disbanded. However, President Trump brought the Council back!
Morgan Griffith
Recently, coal communities and Southwest Virginia heard of more positive news. Trump invited me to a February White House event to celebrate him being named the “Champion of Beautiful Clean Coal.” Also in attendance was my friend and president of Central Coal Company, James “Jim” Bunn, who subsequent to last year’s re-institution of the National Coal Council, was named as one of the members of that Council. While we were there, Trump announced new measures to support American coal!
One Trump measure instructed the Department of Defense to sign electricity purchase contracts with coal-fired power plants. Our coal plants will help provide our armed forces with reliable, base load power. In addition, Trump announced the Department of Energy would provide $175 million to help modernize coal plants. This money will help certain plants in West Virginia, Ohio, North Carolina and Kentucky upgrade their facilities, extend electric generating operations and continue providing reliable, affordable electricity to American homes!
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The Sentence That Starts a Disaster - Why We Cannot Forget the Crandall Canyon Mine Collapse
Sonny is a former attorney who served as a spokesperson for miners’ families during the 2007 Crandall Canyon disaster in Utah. He is the author of the forthcoming nonfiction work "Entombed" and the systems-focused project "Bite the Bullet," which examines how institutional decisions move through complex systems before failure occurs.
Coal is back in Utah’s policy conversation. Grid reliability is back in the news. Aircraft safety never really left. One of the clearest lessons about how disasters actually form was written years ago, inside the record of Crandall Canyon.
Disasters rarely begin with explosions.
They begin with a sentence that sounds reasonable.
Months before the Crandall Canyon mine collapsed in central Utah in 2007, a seismic “bounce” was recorded underground. It was not ignored. It was noted, discussed and carried forward. Monitoring would continue. Conditions would be watched. No immediate operational change was required.
That is how many disasters begin — not with a cartoon villain, not with one obviously reckless act, and not even with a lie. They begin when a warning enters a system and is translated into language the system can live with.
I know because I watched one happen.
In the days after Crandall Canyon collapsed, trapping six miners underground, I served as a spokesperson for several of the miners’ families. For nearly two weeks, the story moved from Huntington Canyon to national television, the White House and the United States Senate. Ten days after the first collapse, three rescuers trying to reach the trapped men were killed in a second collapse. The six miners were never recovered. They were sealed inside the mountain.
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