Gordon gets earful from Campbell County on fighting against federal government

GILLETTE — Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon said he will continue to fight for coal, oil and gas in the wake of a “blizzard” of federal regulations, but many Campbell County residents want him to do more to fight back.

At a town hall Tuesday, Gordon, U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis and state officials gathered in the Gillette College Technical Education Center to talk about what the state is doing to fight federal overreach.

In May, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management proposed ending federal coal leasing in the Powder River Basin. The month before, the BLM announced that it would raise the minimum bond requirements for oil and gas leases.

At the town hall, Gordon said he’d allocated $800,000 to the Attorney General in preparation to challenge the BLM’s recommendation to end federal coal mining in the Powder River Basin. Those funds will be utilized to supplement the attorney general’s efforts with a private firm with proven expertise in federal administrative law.

This is on top of the $300,000 recently allocated to the Wyoming Energy Authority to assist in the state’s challenge to the latest round of rules issued by the Environmental Protection Agency concerning coal-fired power plants.

Gordon said the Biden administration is being unreasonable in its demands of the fossil fuel industry.

“This is an administration that’s made it virtually impossible to meet their deadlines or regulations with carbon capture,” he said. “They’re essentially closing the door on coal. I am not interested in seeing the door close on coal.”

The public was able to ask questions an hour and a half into the town hall, following remarks by the panel, made up of state officials, on federal overreach. There was about half an hour for the public to speak before the meeting ended.

“They’re targeting us. I want Wyoming to target them,” said Vicki Kissack, a small oil producer.

“When do we say enough is enough?” asked Rep. Reuben Tarver, R-Gillette.

Gordon said, “We’re doing everything within the state’s power” to fight back and added that he wishes he could “wave a magic wand, but you know that’s not possible.”

Campbell County has an assessed valuation of $5.3 billion this year. About 80% of that total comes from coal, oil and gas.

Jordan Mason asked the governor how he can say he’s fighting for coal while pushing for a “carbon-negative” future.

Gordon said that through carbon capture technology and forestry management, Wyoming could be able to remove more carbon dioxide from the air than it produces, all while continuing to mine and ship thermal coal.

“I’ve never been against coal,” he said. “I worked in the oil and gas industry, these are the things I care a lot about. The future has got to include coal.”

But if Wyoming wants Powder River Basin coal to continue to be shipped in the future, it has to be open to the idea of carbon capture, he added.

“I do believe carbon capture plays a role in the future of coal mining,” he said. “It’s essential that we at least look at what the opportunities are … we need to have all our tools sharpened and we need to have them ready to deploy.”

Lummis said she likes what she’s seeing from other states that are fighting back against the federal government, and that Wyoming should “not consent to being governed like this.”

“It’s time for states to reassert themselves,” she said. “Things are changing, this is time for states to push back.”

Kissack said that people in Campbell County need to realize that these rules affect them even if they don’t work directly in the energy industry.

“If you take on air in Campbell County, if you eat in Campbell County, if you have a job in Campbell County, all of this affects you,” Kissack said. “If you’ve had disagreements with me politically, let that go, because none of that’s going to matter if these rules go into effect. You won’t be eating here, you won’t be working here, it’ll be a ghost town. So please, we need to come together as a community.”

This story was published on June 28, 2024.