HJRES 130: Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Bureau of Land Management relating to Buffalo Field Office Record of Decision and Approved Resource Management Plan Amendment.

HJRES 130 in plain English: This joint resolution cancels a 2024 Bureau of Land Management rule that had made all federal coal in Wyoming's Buffalo Field Office unavailable for future leasing. By nullifying that rule, it restores the 2015 resource management plan, which did allow coal to be leased in that area. The resolution has been signed into law as Public Law No. 119-51.

Stated purpose

This joint resolution cancels a 2024 Bureau of Land Management rule that had made federal coal in the Buffalo Field Office area of Wyoming unavailable for future leasing, restoring the prior 2015 plan that allowed coal to be leased there.

Key points

• Nullifies a BLM rule finalized November 20, 2024, that blocked federal coal leasing in Wyoming's Buffalo Field Office.
• Restores the 2015 resource management plan, under which BLM-managed coal in the area is available for leasing.
• Overrides the BLM's response to a court order requiring climate impact evaluation of coal leasing under environmental law.

Arguments supporters make

• Canceling this rule restores access to a domestic energy resource and protects jobs in Wyoming communities that depend on coal production.
• The BLM rule went beyond what was required by the court and effectively shut down coal leasing through an administrative decision that Congress has the authority to overturn.
• Keeping federal coal available supports American energy independence and prevents unnecessary restrictions on resources that the public owns.

Arguments opponents make

• A federal court found that the BLM was legally required to evaluate climate impacts of coal leasing in this area, and nullifying the rule sidesteps that environmental review process.
• Reopening federal coal leasing on these lands increases greenhouse gas emissions, which scientists link to climate change, a cost borne broadly by the public.
• Using the Congressional Review Act to cancel an agency rule that resulted from a court order may conflict with the judiciary's role and create legal uncertainty.

Tradeoffs

Making federal coal available again may bring economic benefits to the local energy industry and workforce, but it removes climate impact limits that the BLM put in place after a court-ordered environmental review; the tension is between economic use of public land resources and restrictions meant to address environmental concerns.

Current status in Congress: Became law.

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