Show Western Resources WRAP-UP Federal coal leasing Hv C. Washington-The Interior Department Is laying the groundwork for resuming leasing of federal coal lands a draft environmental impact i i which will be the sub-i i meetings and A tn during the next Cecil D. Andrus claims the Department's decision on resuming leasing of federal coal lands will be based on cooperation with state early identification of v and a willingness to face up to the problem establishing a need for federal coal The draft statement is surprising in that it provides a pretty solid basis for resumption of leasing of federal coal lands even though the Interior Depart- is top heavy in key positions with former conservation organization lobbyists and others who have opposed or been to federal coal leasing In I i. been a moratorium 1 coal except on since Andrus a press conference here on review of the nation's need for that additional federal leasing is The draft EIS does not mention the situation in the Middle East which threatens the petroleum supply of the Free But it does point out that nuclear energy has not lived up to its potential as an energy source because of environmental Other forms of energy will not be available to meet the nation's basic energy needs by year it Despite the current glamorous status accorded to solar the draft EIS an overall solar i I expected to contribute nan percent of the total water it tec heating energy requirements i in this that forces the Department to look a I the nation's vast domestic coal mining by its very a dirty and all the pro-v may never be But for ni st decisions about federal coal are being with public an fair and accountable Andrus stated on release of the draft EIS and the announcement of the public meetings to be held on The draft EIS was made public on available in the West through most state Bureau of Land Management OF W R COAL LANDS i Kis at the outset that of the coal reserves in the t States are located west of the Mississippi Until recent the production of Western coal served only local areas because the big markets for coal were in the Midwest and in the it But stiff air control laws and regulations changed The increased output of coal from the West which started in the early is expected to the EIS even on federal coal is expected to have a growing importance in national coal Of overall Western coal approximately 60 percent is owned by the federal and an additional 20 per- hi to the availability of federal coal for its the EIS This explained at the 15 press that coal is distributed so that development of an additional 20 percent of the Western reserves is impossible unless there is operative of reserves in averse Indian and Western coal production is centered in six where 70 percent of the coal is federally They are New North Utah and In these Western coal states accounted for 71 percent of the production of all Western Production of federal coal in these states was million tons In or percent of total coal from ih and 7 5 percent of national u The trend in Western coal production from the is up on both federal and non-federal coal according to the It increased from million tons in 1971 to million tons In It increased on federal lands from 9 million tons in 1972 to 9 million tons In Total Western tion in 1977 reached million or 24 percent of the nation's total Before Western coal production was the draft EIS OF CLEAN AIM ACTS Two amendments to the Clean Air the i responsible tin n i. i Western coal and for levelling off Eastern and Midwestern demand for the lower sulfur-content Western the EIS pointed The 1970 Act tightened up on sulfur dioxide Standards set for new power plants low enough to prohibit use of most Eastern coal unless utilities pollution controls But were high enough to permit most Western to be burned without the installation of control For many eastern and midwestern the added cost of building a scrubber was large enough that they preferred to substitute Western coal even if its energy content was lower and in Greater case js to customers fuei costs also have played a part in this utility the EIS Another factor not mentioned by the EIS was a general skepticism within the utility industry that the scrubbers which were designed to lower sulfur dioxide emissions actually do in The Agency claimed the many utility experts So some utilities opted to buy lower sulfur Western The 1977 Clean Air Act further new- the EIS But the new standards which must be issued under the 1977 act are expected to provide that Western in tr- nev will require all new power plants to pollution control equipment to meet the expected new in all parts of the thereby cutting back on the populous eastern and midwestern markets for western This provision was written into the 1977 act by a Senators from coal-producing Appalachian states that did not want to see the Eastern coal market further Western Senators who aren't eager for their states to become major coal and environmental groups cool to coal particularly the surface or strip-mining now going on in the The lessened i midwestern toi will not materially affect overall demand for Western according to the New power plants coming on the line until 1983 can use the standards now in so it will be some time before the new standards affect Western coal produced for eastern and midwestern And the growth of coal demand in flu V assure a continued market for Western coal because growth of coal demand is expected to be higher in the West than in any other region in the mainly for power genera the EIS FACTORS IN OF COAL LANDS Other factors which Interior officials must consider before the Secretary decides to resume federal coal leasing include the Many of the best 1 are on particularly the seamed coal in the Powder River coal region in eastern Montana and eastern Wyoming which can be Existing leases on federal lands were issued without consideration of environmental Impacts' and many are hence most will never be The same problems plague preference li ions still pending at Interior Legal hassles over contracts to mine coal on Indian lands have cut production from these and are likely to continue to do so in the although there are substantial non-federal coal reserves in the the development potential of is limited by ownership particularly in the non-federal coal in checkerboard areas would have a poor development potential without the addition of federal EIS Interior has developed a planning process which will screen out the coal lands c least Lands which uie unsuitable for mining because of environmental constraints or other uses will be So will some lands where surface-owner consent is needed because the resource is owned by the government but the surface by another The tracts which remain will be considered on a regional and if there is no these red for federal lease If Secretary leasing of coal such leasing could begin in September according to Interior's current |