The COAL Act of 2025 requires the Department of the Interior to process pending coal lease applications that have started environmental review under federal law. It mandates the Secretary to publish draft environmental assessments, set fair market value, and grant these applications as soon as practicable. The bill also ends a 2016 federal moratorium on coal leasing that had halted new leases. This law directly affects coal companies with pending applications under the Bureau of Land Management's program and streamlines the leasing process for existing approved leases.
The Mining Waste, Fraud, and Abuse Prevention Act of 2025 establishes new fees and royalties for hardrock mining operations on federal land. Mining claim holders must pay $200 annually per claim, and operators pay a 5-8% royalty on mineral production. The bill creates a Hardrock Minerals Reclamation Fund to which these fees and royalties will be deposited for reclaiming abandoned mine sites. It also establishes new permit requirements for mineral exploration and mining, along with financial assurance requirements to ensure reclamation. These provisions directly affect mining operators on federal lands, requiring them to comply with new fee structures, permit processes, and reclamation obligations.
The Western Wildfire Support Act of 2025 aims to improve wildfire management across western U.S. federal lands by enhancing preparation, detection, suppression, and recovery efforts. The bill requires federal agencies to improve transparency around wildfire funding, establish reimbursement for military training-related wildfires, and create strategic fire management plans for at-risk areas. It authorizes research on drone technology for firefighting, funding for local firefighter training, and establishes a new account for long-term burned area rehabilitation. The act directly affects federal land management agencies, state and local fire departments, and communities in wildfire-prone areas across the western United States. Key provisions include improved detection technology, post-fire recovery resources, and incentives for innovative solutions to invasive species problems following wildfires.
The Western Wildfire Support Act of 2025 aims to improve wildfire management across western U.S. landscapes by focusing on preparation, detection, suppression, and post-fire recovery. The bill requires federal land managers to create strategic fire management plans for high-risk areas, establish transparent reporting on firefighting costs, and reimburse states for wildfire suppression caused by military training. It promotes new technology through provisions for wildfire detection equipment, slip-on tanker units, and research on unmanned aircraft systems, while also creating a dedicated Long-Term Burned Area Rehabilitation account for ecosystem restoration. These provisions primarily affect federal agencies (Interior and Agriculture Departments), state and local fire departments, and communities in wildfire-prone regions. The bill includes specific reporting requirements and funding mechanisms to support these new approaches to wildfire management.
SJRES 63 is a joint resolution seeking congressional disapproval of a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) rule issued on November 12, 2024, which established a resource management plan for the Central Yukon region. The rule, formally titled the "Central Yukon Record of Decision and Approved Resource Management Plan," was determined by the Government Accountability Office to qualify as a "rule" under the Congressional Review Act (CRA). If enacted, this resolution would nullify the BLM rule, preventing it from taking effect and removing the current land management plan. This disapproval would directly affect federal management of public lands in the Central Yukon area by invalidating the existing resource plan.
This bill transfers federal land and water rights for Crystal Reservoir in Ouray, Colorado, to the City of Ouray. The city must maintain the area as public open space for recreation (like fishing) with no fees, manage dam maintenance, and avoid development beyond necessary infrastructure. If the city violates these terms, the land reverts to federal ownership. The transfer occurs at no cost to the city, except for survey expenses.
HR 7592 requires key energy regulatory agencies - including the Department of Energy, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, Office of Surface Mining, and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission - to set expiration dates for specific energy-related regulations. Existing regulations must expire within one year of enactment, while new regulations expire after five years unless renewed. Renewal requires public comment on costs/benefits and agency determination that the regulation has a "net deregulatory effect," with extensions limited to five years per renewal. If not renewed, regulations cease to be enforceable and are removed from federal rules. The bill directly affects how these agencies manage energy and environmental regulations under specific statutes like the Energy Policy Act and Surface Mining Control Act.
HR 5785 establishes a voluntary program allowing ranchers in 16 Western states (Arizona through Wyoming) to permanently retire their federal grazing permits on designated land areas. Ranchers can submit permits for retirement, but the government will accept no more than 100 nationwide and 25 per state annually. Once retired, the land permanently ends livestock grazing, and no new permits are issued for that area; ranchers also surrender rights to fences and structures (range developments) on the retired land. The bill aims to reduce land-use conflicts while providing ranchers flexibility to exit grazing operations.
This bill authorizes coal to be mined on approximately 800 acres of federal land in Musselshell County, Montana. Specifically, it allows all federal coal reserves in such federal land and leased under Federal Coal Lease MTM 97988 to be mined in accordance with the 2020 Bull Mountains Mining Plan Modification. The Bull Mountains Mine is operated by Signal Peak Energy. This bill directs the Department of the Interior, without modification or delay, to approve the Bull Mountains Mining Plan Modification to the extent necessary to mine such land.
This bill, HR 1687 (the CLEAN Act), modifies geothermal leasing and permitting processes on federal lands. It shortens geothermal lease terms from two years to one year and requires the Interior Secretary to hold replacement lease sales if a sale is canceled or delayed. The bill also sets strict 30-day deadlines for the Interior Secretary to notify applicants about complete permit applications and issue final decisions on those applications. These changes directly affect geothermal energy developers seeking to lease federal land for energy projects.