Wyden, Udall Introduce Bill to End Sweetheart Deals for Coal Companies

Press Release

U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Tom Udall, D-N.M., today introduced legislation to ensure American taxpayers receive the full value of coal produced on public lands.

The Coal Royalty Fairness Act would require the Interior Department to collect royalties for coal mined on federal lands based on the actual market value of coal. Currently, some private mining companies sell coal to their own affiliated companies at a lower cost than market value, and pay federal royalties based on the cheaper, first point of sale.

"American taxpayers are getting ripped off by coal companies under the current, broken coal royalties system," Wyden said. "I raised concerns about this two years ago, and today, Sen. Udall and I are introducing legislation to get the public every penny owed by companies that may be taking advantage of a loose system. Instead of subsidizing private coal companies, it's time to put this money back where it belongs -- into rural communities and the pockets of taxpayers."

"Our bill makes a simple change that will ensure taxpayers get their fair share of royalties on coal mined from public lands. We've been shortchanged for far too long," Udall said. "Like many other western states, New Mexico depends on mineral royalties to help pay for things like public education, and fixing our broken royalty program will give our schools a much-needed funding boost."

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