Bill > S3045

This bill, known as the COAL Act of 2025, requires the Secretary of the Interior to take specific actions regarding pending coal lease applications. The bill defines a "qualified application" as any coal lease application submitted under the Bureau of Land Management's lease-by-application program that was already in the environmental review process as of the bill's enactment. The Secretary must, as soon as practicable, publish draft environmental assessments for pending applications that haven't yet been publicly reviewed, finalize the fair market value of coal tracts, take all necessary intermediate actions, and ultimately grant these qualified applications. Additionally, the bill nullifies Secretarial Order 3338 from 2016, which had imposed a moratorium on federal coal leasing, effectively removing any restrictions on new coal leases. The bill aims to expedite the coal leasing process by mandating the review and approval of pending applications and eliminating previous administrative barriers to coal leasing on federal lands.

Agriculture and Natural Resources

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/3045/all-info