Federal Lands Hold Enough Coal to Supply United States for 600 Years, USGS Estimates

A new federal assessment identified more than 360 billion short tons of coal beneath public lands, with Wyoming accounting for 87% of reserves connected to active federal-land mines.

By yourNEWS Media Newsroom

Coal deposits beneath federally managed public lands could meet U.S. demand for at least 600 years if the entire resource were recovered and consumed, according to a new assessment from the U.S. Geological Survey.

The Department of the Interior released the findings Thursday, estimating that federal lands contain approximately 356 billion short tons of available coal resources in addition to 4.2 billion short tons of reserves associated with mines that are currently active.

The distinction reflects the difference between the broader amount of coal believed to be present and the portion that can currently be extracted economically under existing conditions. Together, the figures demonstrate the scale of the nation’s coal holdings on public land and their potential role in long-term electricity production.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the assessment reinforces the administration’s effort to expand domestic energy production and reduce dependence on foreign sources.

“American Energy Dominance is more important than ever, and so is beautiful clean coal’s role in the production of electricity needed to fuel our future prosperity,” Burgum said in a statement.

Wyoming remains the country’s largest coal-producing state and holds the overwhelming majority of the reserves tied to active mining operations on federal property.

Of the 34 active mines located on federal land, 14 are in Wyoming. The state accounts for 87% of the reported coal reserves associated with those operations, underscoring the central role of the Cowboy State in the nation’s coal industry.

The federal estimate does not mean all identified coal will necessarily be mined. Commercial development depends on market demand, extraction costs, infrastructure, regulatory decisions and the availability of competing energy sources.

The assessment nevertheless indicates that scarcity is unlikely to constrain U.S. coal production for centuries. With hundreds of billions of tons identified beneath public lands, federal policy and market conditions — rather than the size of the resource — are expected to determine how much coal is ultimately developed.