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AP-US-COAL-CLIMATE-CHANGE

US says resuming coal sales has little impact; critics balk

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The Trump administration says the resumption of coal sales from public lands that had been blocked under former President Barack Obama will result in a negligible increase in greenhouse gas emissions. Critics say the administration's analysis of the federal coal program released Wednesday is flawed and ignores its broader impacts. A federal judge in Montana had said last year that the Department of Interior had to conduct an environmental review to justify its decision to lift a 2016 moratorium on most coal sales from public lands. Companies have mined about 4 billion tons of coal from federal reserves in the past decade.

GRAND TETON GOATS

Grand Teton: 36 mountain goats killed in helicopter shooting

JACKSON, Wyo. (AP) — Officials say sharpshooters killed 36 mountain goats from a helicopter in a contested effort to eradicate the nonnative animals from Grand Teton National Park. Park officials released the tally to the Jackson Hole News & Guide on Tuesday, four days after Interior Secretary David Bernhardt intervened to stop the shooting on the day it began. Park officials want to kill the park's population of 100 or so mountain goats, which compete with about 100 bighorn sheep for food and can spread disease to the native animals. Wyoming officials including Gov. Mark Gordon oppose the helicopter gunning, saying it causes the goat meat to go to waste.

COAL JOINT VENTURE

Regulators contesting proposed Wyoming coal mining merger

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — Federal regulators are contesting plans by two coal companies to merge their Wyoming operations. The regulators say the proposal would stifle competition that has helped keep down prices. The Federal Trade Commission contests the proposed joint venture between Peabody Energy and Arch Coal, both based in St. Louis, in a complaint issued in the agency's administrative court Tuesday. The FTC alleges the two companies already are the biggest miners in the Powder River Basin by far and competition between them has helped keep down coal prices. The companies vow in a joint press release to fight the administrative complaint and continue pursuing the merger.

DOCTOR-DRUG DISTRIBUTION

Wyoming doctor acknowledges illegally prescribing opioids

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — A Wyoming doctor accused of illegally prescribing opioids and other controlled substances has pleaded guilty to multiple charges. David Cesko appeared in federal court in Cheyenne on Wednesday and pleaded guilty to 20 counts. He acknowledged that he unlawfully prescribed codeine cough syrup and opiates to minor, female patients, and on several occasions that he unlawfully prescribed opiates to a pregnant minor. Prosecutors say the 66-year-old Rawlins doctor dispensed medication from November 2014 to May 2017, often without a legitimate medical purpose or outside the usual course of professional practice. He also was accused of improperly prescribing anti-anxiety drugs, stimulants and painkilling opioids.

YELLOWSTONE BISON

Yellowstone bison entering Montana face slaughter, hunters

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — One of the last and largest wild bison populations in North America has begun its migration out of Yellowstone National Park. As the animals enter southwestern Montana they face hunting and government-sponsored slaughter as part of a population reduction program. State and federal officials want to reduce the park’s bison herds this winter by up to 900 animals under an agreement intended to shield Montana’s cattle industry from the disease brucellosis. The park has more than 4,000 bison. Hunters from American Indian tribes with treaty rights in the Yellowstone region have killed more than 50 bison leaving the park so far this year.

NAVAJO COAL

Navajo company reaches immunity deal with US for coal mines

CASPER, Wyo. (AP) — A Navajo tribal company has reached an agreement that would allow the U.S. government to enforce environmental laws at two coal mines in Wyoming and one in Montana. Navajo Transitional Energy Company bought the mines following the bankruptcy of Gillette-based Cloud Peak Energy in 2019. As a tribal entity, NTEC normally would be able to claim sovereign immunity and avoid being sued by government agencies seeking to enforce laws. NTEC's limited waiver of sovereign immunity agreement with the U.S. Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement would allow the federal agency to enforce laws including the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act at the mines.

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