Interior Department repeals Obama-era rule on coal royalties

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

Apr 3, 1:06 PM EDT

INTERIOR DEPARTMENT REPEALS OBAMA-ERA RULE ON COAL ROYALTIES

BY MATTHEW DALY
ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Interior Department said Monday it is scrapping an Obama-era rule aimed at ensuring that coal companies don't shortchange taxpayers on huge volumes of coal extracted from public lands, primarily in the West.

The Trump administration had put the rule on hold after mining companies challenged the regulation in federal court. Monday's action repeals the Obama-era rule and begins a process seeking public comments on whether to change the way the government values coal mined on federal lands.

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke described the repeal as another sign the Trump administration has stopped what it saw as a "war on coal" by the federal government.

President Donald Trump lifted a moratorium on the sale of coal mining leases on federal lands last week and rolled back Obama-era regulations aimed at curbing climate-changing emissions from coal-fired power plants.

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Read more: http://staging.hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_TRUMP_COAL_ROYALTIES?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2017-04-03-12-38-30

[Jonny Appleseed]

1. Why the f uck is he so obsessed with coal?

Is it the perfect portion of suffering, failure, and classic Americana that reminds him of himself? It's a veritable perfect political prop next to using veterans.