For more information:
Kay LaCoe – Vice President of Marketing & Communications
O: 701.355.2194 | C: 701.400.6757
kay.lacoe@lignite.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – January 14, 2025
BISMARCK -The Lignite Energy Council chastises the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) recent Record of Decision (ROD) as a masterclass in ignoring the obvious. The BLM’s decision for its Resource Management Plan (RMP) establishes a framework for federal land use that, while not officially withdrawing lands from leasing, imposes restrictions that effectively block energy development. The BLM’s decision reflects a dismissive approach to legal and statutory challenges and a failure to uphold cooperative federalism. The Lignite Energy Council calls it what it is: a failure.
“As demonstrated in pages and pages of detailed protest letters, the BLM’s Record of Decision was littered with flaws and inconsistencies pertaining to multiple federal statutes and legal decisions. The BLM’s shallow responses also imply a rejection of the very principles of cooperative federalism necessary to implement federal standards and programs in a collaborative effort while respecting state primacy,” said Jason Bohrer, President and CEO of the Lignite Energy Council. “Instead of working together to protect the environment while maintaining its mission of multiple-use land management, the BLM chooses to simply double down on a flawed process, leaving the States, industry, and the new federal administration to pick up the pieces.”
The ROD highlights systemic issues within the BLM’s administrative processes, particularly its handling of protest letters that raised critical concerns about federal overreach and functional land-use withdrawals. The agency’s responses to these concerns fail to substantively engage with the core issues raised, instead opting for a dismissive approach that lacks depth and fails to uphold the cooperative tenets of federalism.
North Dakota raised detailed objections to the proposed decision, arguing that the policies effectively create a “functional withdrawal” of lands from leasing without adhering to the regulatory processes required for official withdrawals. Despite these objections, the BLM’s response merely noted technical distinctions, further compounding frustrations over the agency’s refusal to address the real-world impacts of its decisions.
The Lignite Energy Council calls on policymakers, industry stakeholders, and state leaders to hold the BLM accountable and work collaboratively toward policies that protect both environmental and economic interests without undermining state authority.
About the Lignite Energy Council
The Lignite Energy Council, the voice for North Dakota’s coal industry, is a regional trade association representing lignite producers, electric utilities, and more than 200 businesses that supply goods and services to the mines and plants. The Council plays a vital role in supporting an industry that generates approximately $5.5 billion in gross business volume annually and contributes $100 million in state and local tax revenues. The lignite industry also facilitates nearly 12,000 direct and indirect jobs across the state, strengthening North Dakota’s economy and energy landscape.
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