The decision for the 25,000-acre strip mine in Rosebud and Treasure counties allows the recovery of about 33.75 million tons of federal coal and extends the mine's operation through 2039. It marks the second-largest federal coal mine expansion approved since the beginning of the second President Donald Trump administration, a press release said.
The approval from the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement "ensures more than 300 high-paying jobs and strengthens Montana's economy, while advancing the Trump administration's commitment to American Energy Dominance," the release states. Coal from the Rosebud Mine powers the Colstrip and Rosebud power plants, which together can generate more than 1,500 megawatts of electricity.
This energy helps deliver "affordable and reliable" power to American families and businesses across the region, the administration said. The projected annual royalties to be paid to the federal government are more than $9 million.
"This administration is focused on unleashing American energy, creating good-paying jobs and restoring economic certainty for our communities," said Acting Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management Adam Suess. "By responsibly developing our domestic coal resources, we're reducing reliance on foreign energy, strengthening national security and powering America's future."
The Rosebud Mine has a contentious history with Montana, environmental issues and the courts.
In Nov. 2023, the Sierra Club announced it had won an important victory against Montana in its monitoring of the Rosebud strip mine.
The court agreed with Sierra that the Montana Department of Environmental Quality failed to protect water quality from an expansion of the Area B permit area of the Rosebud coal strip mine near Colstrip, Mont., one of the largest coal strip mines in the nation. The court's order vacated the mining permit, finding that Montana's laws governing strip mining ban DEQ from allowing strip mining if a company can't assure that water resources will be protected.
"All too often, the state agency that is charged with protecting water quality chooses to protect a mining company that has been polluting area waters for decades," said Anne Hedges, director of policy for the Montana Environmental Information Center, in a statement in 2023. "High levels of salts in water are harmful to agriculture and the environment. DEQ allowed a substantial increase in salt levels over an absurdly long length of time in a water body that is already overloaded with salts. This decision creates an opportunity to move in a new direction that protects water quality and everything that depends on clean water downstream of this mine. Now is the time to adjust course and put Montana waters first."
The Rosebud Mine was then the sixth largest source of greenhouse emissions in the United States.
Trump has touted "clean coal" and bringing coal mining back from laws imposed by environmentalists.
The environmental group Green America maintains that "clean coal" is a myth.
"While some policymakers support 'clean coal,' coal can never be clean. It is harmful to both people and the planet," Green America said in a website statement. "Coal combustion releases the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrous oxide (N2O) during combustion."
The Biden administration's Energy Department announced in October 2024 a $428 million investment in clean energy projects in coal communties as it sought a transition to clean energy.
Biden's Interior Department in March of 2021 also made more than $260 million available for coal communities struggling with falling demand for coal.
Coal fired power plants cause environmental pollution in air and ground water that led the Environmental Protection Agency in April 2024 to finalize new rules to reduce that pollution. Ignoring climate change science, Trump is doing the opposite, loosening coal mining restrictions.
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