GILLETTE, Wyo. — Dozens of people gathered in the Gillette College Technical Center on Tuesday afternoon for a town hall meeting with Gov. Mark Gordon to discuss federal moves that could impact Campbell County directly.
Several other legislators and industry representatives also made the trip to Gillette, including Wyoming Game and Fish Director Brian Nesvik and James Young, the director of government and political affairs at the National Mining Association, among others.
On paper, the discussion included a variety of changing rules including sage grouse conservation, but concern over changing regulations in the energy industry dominated the two-hour talk. The panelists themselves also spoke for the majority of the allotted time, leaving just the last 30 minutes for the public to ask questions, which frustrated some in the audience.
In his preliminary remarks, however, Gordon assured those in attendance he was working closely with the Wyoming Attorney General to ready litigation on recent rule changes related to coal and oil, adding that bringing a successful legal challenge required precision.
“We really do work carefully with our agents to ensure that we make the most effective and best arguments we can,” Gordon said, also noting the importance of getting cases heard within a sympathetic circuit court. “We’re now trying to work and get in the Tenth Circuit and get a different judgement that allows us to get to the Supreme Court.”
Certain rule changes, handed down from the Bureau of Land Management this spring, could directly impact the oil industry in Wyoming as well as coal production in the Powder River Basin specifically. First, the BLM announced plans to phase out coal mining in the Powder River Basin by not granting any new coal leases on publicly owned land in the area.
With the supply from current leases still available to mine, the agency projected consistent production would continue until 2041.
The decision was slammed by state and local officials, who vowed to fight the ruling in court. Wyoming has already joined a lawsuit alongside Utah to combat a similar rule change from the BLM related to public lands.
Even with the assurances of working on legal plans of attack to protect the coal industry, Gordon was quick to note his support for a broad spectrum of energy supply methods like nuclear power as part of his “all-of-the-above” approach to energy policy.
When pressed by an audience member on his support of carbon capture, Gordon made it clear that he would fight for the coal industry to continue operation in Wyoming, describing them as a vital part of his policy. Wyoming coal would also play a role in powering new power plants and in increased energy demand across the country.
“I do believe that carbon capture plays a role in the future of coal mining, coal power production, and I think it’s essential that we at least look at what the opportunities are. … I am not interested in closing the door on coal one iota,” Gordon said.
He further explained that while carbon capture may not yet be as efficient as it could be, it would be an important part of keeping costs down when constructing new power plants or further incorporating renewable energy sources.
“If we as a nation decide that carbon is not that big a deal, fine. We’re still going to have people investing in Campbell County, in power plants that burn Powder River coal,” Gordon said.
Along with coal, concerns over changes to oil leasing bonds were top of mind for audience members.
The changes would skyrocket current federal lease prices, potentially pricing out small oil producers in the state. Vicki Kissack, a local oil producer, raised concerns to Gordon about leading independent litigation on the rule changes.
In his response, Gordon said that teaming up with other energy-producing states, rather than pursuing legal action alone, was a stronger strategy in the long run.
“It is important that we work with other energy states like West Virginia and North Dakota and Louisiana and a number of others to be able to make sure that we can present the best case, the case that can get to the Supreme Court and hopefully muzzle some of this, what I refer to as ‘regulation with impunity,’” Gordon said.
By making policy through the “rule change” process, the BLM and other federal agencies are not required to do more thorough legwork with impacted communities required for new environmental laws, Gordon said. The National Environmental Policy Act is meant to give local citizens, government and other stakeholders input on changes in environmental law that could put their community at risk.
In a press conference following the meeting, Gordon noted that fighting the federal rule changes in court was one of few tools available to combat the “blizzard” of regulations coming from the Biden Administration. The state, he said, has also recently retained a large law firm with deep D.C. ties to better prepare for legal challenges.
Gordon also said that he would try to find his way back to Gillette for another evening in the evening, in order to hear from more community shareholders in Gillette, many of whom were at work during the afternoon town hall.
