Rep. Ryan Zinke Announces Permanent Indian Coal Production Tax Credit

Press Release

Today, Congressman Ryan Zinke was joined by members of the Crow Nation, Cloud Peak Energy, Big Horn and Yellowstone County elected officials, and local business leaders at Modern Machinery in Billings to announce the introduction of a bill to make the Indian Coal Production Tax Credit (ICPTC) permanent. This legislation will prevent tribes like the Crow from experiencing lapses in the vital tax credit. Senator Steve Daines is introducing companion legislation in the U.S. Senate.

"I am proud to introduce this important legislation because making the ICPTC permanent will level the playing field for future development of coal resources on Tribal land and ensure generations of good-paying jobs for the Crowpeople," said Rep. Zinke. "Montana is home to 25 percent of our nation's coal reserves--enough to supply the entire U.S. with affordable electricity for more than 100 years. Rather than allowing President Obama and the EPA to continue waging their war on Montana coal, we should be investing in this technology. Clean coal is one of the leading sources of affordable electricity and good-paying jobs for Montana families."

Montana's coal industry supports 5,000 jobs and adds more than $118 million in tax revenue, which is reinvested into programs and services like K-12 and higher education, state parks and libraries, and infrastructure projects.

The Crow Nation has an unemployment rate of almost 50 percent, nearly 10 times higher than Montana overall, yet the tribe sits on one of the largest coal reserves in the nation, estimated at 9 billion tons. The Crow Nation has already entered into lease agreements for the extraction, yet much of the incentive behind these agreements is based on the IPTC.

Zinke continued: "We want to create as few economic burdens as possible, especially since tribal lands are subject to greater regulatory hurdles compared to private, state, or federal projects. Making the tax credit permanent will empower tribal governments by promoting economic and social growth. Coal-producing tribes, such as the Crow Nation, will have a greater capacity to create jobs and invest in critical projects like infrastructure and education."

In addition to the ICPTC, an infrastructure project that would help grow the Crow's clean coal industry is the Gateway Terminal Pacific export terminal as their own facility to get their coal to international markets on the Pacific Rim, which estimates show could have a $1.5 trillion impact on Montana. Having this kind of access will make it easier for the tribe to participate in the coal industry, thereby creating more jobs to empower thousands of its members who remain unemployed.

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