US says resuming coal sales has little impact; critics balk

BILLINGS, Mont. | By MATTHEW BROWN (AP) — The Trump administration says the resumption of coal sales from public lands that had been blocked under former President Barack Obama will result in a negligible increase in greenhouse gas emissions.

Critics say the administration’s analysis of the federal coal program released Wednesday is flawed and ignores its broader impacts.

A federal judge in Montana had said last year that the Department of Interior had to conduct an environmental review to justify its decision to lift a 2016 moratorium on most coal sales from public lands.

Companies have mined about 4 billion tons of coal from federal reserves in the past decade.