A mechanized shovel loads a haul truck that can carry up to 250 tons of coal at the Spring Creek coal mine, April 4, 2013, near Decker, Mont. On Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024, a U.S. appeals court struck down a judge's 2022 order that imposed a moratorium on coal leasing from federal lands. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)
February 21, 2024
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February 21, 2024 3:50 p.m.
Court lifts federal coal sales moratorium in a setback for Dems and environmentalists
More than 260 million tons of coal, or almost half of the nation’s total, was mined by private companies from leases on federal land in 2022