Economics
U.S. Halts Issuing Leases of Federal Land for Coal Mining
- Obama administration to study coal's environmental impacts
- Moratorium announced Friday is limited to new coal leases
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The Obama administration will stop leasing federal land to coal developers for three years while it studies the fossil fuel’s environmental impact and considers bigger changes such as raising royalty rates paid by mining companies.
The decision brings more bad news to a battered coal industry that’s reeling from dropping demand as environmental regulations and lower-priced natural gas lure power utilities away from the fossil fuel.