“It is the lifeblood of Musselshell County”
U.S. SENATE – U.S. Senator Steve Daines today urged his colleagues on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee to pass his crucial legislation, S.362, to keep Montana’s Bull Mountains Mine open, which would protect Montana jobs and energy security. He also spoke with President of the Utah Mining Association Brian Somers about the importance of mining to local communities.
Watch the full exchange HERE.
Daines on the Importance of Bull Mountains Mine to Montana:
Let’s talk about the Bull Mountains coal mine. This is a mine near Roundup, Montana. It plays a crucial role in Montana’s energy economy. The mine employs 250 people. These are high -paying jobs with good benefits. It generates over $90 million a year in state, local, and federal taxes and revenues. It is the lifeblood of Musselshell County. Unfortunately these jobs are now at risk and the life of the mine and the community it serves are in limbo. It’s because of the checkerboard federal ownership in Montana and as well as this long-wall mining process. This mine is running out of permitted coal and might be forced to close. This is why I introduced Senate Bill 362. It’s a targeted short-term fix that allows the mining of very specific federal minerals to ensure that we have enough time to find a longer-term solution for the mine. This bill simply allows the mine to continue mining the same materials it has for decades under the same permit it’s had for years. Last Congress, this committee passed this identical bill with a bipartisan vote. I want to thank my colleagues and this committee for working with me to make that happen. And I hope we can again pass this short-term fix so these workers in Montana can continue to provide for their families. Mining jobs saw a major hit in Montana over the last couple of years. The Bull Mountains mine recently had to lay off dozens of hardworking Montanans because they’ve run out of permitted coal and recently the Stillwater mine, the United States’ only platinum and palladium mine, which is used in catalytic converters to keep our air clean, it recently laid off 700 Montanans. We can’t afford the loss of any more jobs for these Montana miners. That’s why we must pass this bill and get it on the president’s desk.
Daines and Somers discussed the importance of mining to local communities:
Mr. Somers, as the president of the Utah Mining Association, you understand how vital the mining industry is to building jobs, local communities, national security, and tax revenues. In Montana, coal-fired plants provide the largest share of Montana’s electricity generation, accounting for 45 percent of Montana’s in-state generation. The coal industry not only supplies Americans with a low-cost, reliable, and secure source of energy, it’s called baseload power, but it also generates millions of dollars of federal, state, and local revenue per year and creating hundreds of very good-paying jobs in Montana.
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Contact: Matt Lloyd, Rachel Dumke