U.S. CONGRESS — U.S. Senator Steve Daines, along with Congressman Ryan Zinke (MT-01) and Matt Rosendale (MT-02), sent a letter today urging the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) to expeditiously finish the needed environmental reviews for the Bull Mountains, Spring Creek and Rosebud mines. The lawmakers also pressed OSMRE on the continued delays could have a devastating impact on Montana communities. Key excerpt from the letter follows:
“For example, the Bull Mountains Mine is a substantial economic driver in Musselshell and Yellowstone Counties and is the lifeblood of many rural communities in southcentral Montana. Yet, OSMRE currently estimates that the court ordered EIS will not be completed until July 2026, more than two years after OSMRE committed to the court that its analysis would be finished and many months after the mine runs of permitted coal. This same pattern is also playing out at the Rosebud and Spring Creek mines where OSMRE has estimated completion dates after the court ordered deadlines. Both mines are major economic drivers for eastern Montana, employing of Montanans, including union and tribal members, and generating millions in federal, state, and local taxes and royalties. OSMRE has suspiciously delayed the completion of the environmental reviews time and time again leading us to seriously question the intent behind OSMRE’s environmental review processes,” they wrote.
“We urge you to follow the law, court ordered deadlines and commitments, and the needs of the communities and complete the environmental reviews in a timely manner,” they continued.
Read the full letter to OSMRE HERE.