COAL Act of 2025
Key claim: The COAL Act of 2025 would require the BLM to process pending federal coal lease applications, complete associated environmental reviews, and nullify the Interior Department’s Secretarial Order 3338 moratorium on new federal coal leases.
Abstract
(S3045 · 119th Congress) Combating Obstruction Against Leasing Act of 2025 or the COAL Act of 2025 This bill requires the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to process certain pending applications to lease coal mineral estates owned by the federal government in order to develop coal. If the environmental review process under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 has commenced for an application, then the BLM must publish a draft environmental assessment and any applicable implementing regulations, finalize the fair market value of the coal tract for which a lease by application is pending, take all intermediate actions necessary to grant the application, and grant the application. With respect to previously awarded coal leases, the BLM must grant any additional approvals required for mining activities to commence. Finally, the bill nullifies the Department of the Interior’s Secretarial Order 3338, which placed a hold on most new federal coal leases until the BLM completes a comprehensive review of the federal coal program. Latest action (2025-10-23): Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Why this matters
Federal coal leasing has been effectively paused under Secretarial Order 3338 pending programmatic review, and the COAL Act of 2025 would legislatively unwind that moratorium and force BLM to act on backlogged lease applications. The outcome directly affects federal coal production volumes, state and Treasury royalty/bonus revenue, and downstream emissions and community health impacts near mining regions. It also tests whether Congress or the executive branch sets the pace of federal fossil leasing decisions.