Navajo Nation could keep mining coal until 2136 following permit approval under Trump

The Trump administration has just green-lighted a plan that could let the Navajo Nation dig up more than half a billion tons of coal by extending the life of a New Mexico mine over the next century — until the year 2136.

Citing a couple of President Donald Trump’s executive orders — including one to bolster domestic coal production — the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) at the Interior Department writes that denying the No Name permit would be at odds with the “Unleashing American Energy” agenda.

The federal agency’s action — published Tuesday — contends that its decision is intended to “encourage energy production” in the midst of Trump’s self-declared national energy emergency.

That record of decision in addition to the 401-page FEIS — or final environmental impact statement — document the potential tradeoffs in greater detail. For example, the Interior Department fears that not granting this permit could also destabilize the Navajo Nation economy.

The Navajo Mine, now owned by the Navajo Transitional Energy Company, has been fueling the aging Four Corners Power Plant since 1963.

That lease is set to expire in 2041, but the feds note the next coal buyer is unknown.

The Future of Navajo Coal Country

Coal powered the Industrial Revolution, and was the dominant fuel source in the U.S. up until the 1950s. Since then, it’s been giving way to cleaner and cheaper energy alternatives. But President Trump is strategizing a comeback story for the American coal industry. His agenda includes Indian Country.

The tribally owned NTEC, which also extracts coal from deposits in Montana and Wyoming, considers itself to be the third-largest coal producer in the U.S. And its executives have recently disclosed that the bulk of customers are based in Asia, especially South Korea and Japan.

Still, not issuing the NTEC permit “would result in adverse socioeconomic impacts,” according to the 33-page record of decision signed by OSMRE Western Regional Director Marcelo Calle.

Royalties on top of tax revenue could one day be lost, accounting for a fourth of the tribe’s general fund annually. Hundreds of high-paying jobs are also in jeopardy with the Navajo Mine and Four Corners Power Plant possibly shutting down.

That’s why Arizona Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs along with Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren and Hopi Chairman Lamar Keevama inked a five-year agreement in August to monitor the closures of coal mines and coal-fired power plants in the Four Corners region.

The feds ultimately argue financial factors outweigh a slew of environmental and other harms posed by the nearly 12,000-acre expansion — including loud noises, restrictions on land use like livestock grazing, roads being rerouted and the relocation of nearby Navajo families living in and around the mine site.