S4432-118

Reported

To allow certain Federal minerals to be mined consistent with the Bull Mountains Mining Plan Modification.

118th Congress Introduced May 23, 2024

Analysis under review: This bill has generated analysis that may be too generic or incomplete. Clause-level evidence remains available below.

Summary

What This Bill Does

This bill authorizes coal mining on 800 acres of federal land in Musselshell County, Montana under Federal Coal Lease MTM 97988. It requires the Secretary of the Interior to approve the Bull Mountains Mining Plan Modification within 30 days of the bill becoming law, without any changes or delays.

Who Benefits and How

The coal mining company holding Federal Coal Lease MTM 97988 (Bull Mountains Mine No. 1) benefits by receiving congressional authorization to proceed with mining operations that were previously approved by the Department of Interior in 2020. This removes potential legal or administrative obstacles to mining these federal coal reserves.

Who Bears the Burden and How

The Secretary of the Interior faces a mandatory 30-day deadline to approve the mining plan with no discretion to modify or delay. Local communities, environmental groups, and those concerned about federal lands management may view this as bypassing normal regulatory review processes.

Key Provisions

  • Authorizes mining of federal coal reserves under Federal Coal Lease MTM 97988 in Montana
  • Requires Secretary of Interior to approve the Bull Mountains Mining Plan Modification within 30 days without modification or delay
  • Specifies 800 acres of federal land in Musselshell County, Montana eligible for mining

Evidence Chain:

This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.

At a Glance

What This Bill Does

Authorizes the mining of federal coal reserves in Montana under an existing mining plan modification and requires the Secretary of the Interior to approve the plan within 30 days.

Key Policy Areas

Energy, Public Lands, Mining

Primary Purpose

Authorizes the mining of federal coal reserves in Montana under an existing mining plan modification and requires the Secretary of the Interior to approve the plan within 30 days.

Policy Domains

Energy Public Lands Mining

Section 1 - Authorization to Mine Federal Minerals

Identified Gains
  • Coal mining companies
  • Federal coal lease holders
Model: N/A | Version: bill_summary_v2 | Source: rs
Coal mining companies:
Federal coal lease holders:
Identified Costs
  • Department of the Interior
  • Environmental regulators
Model: N/A | Version: bill_summary_v2 | Source: rs
Environmental regulators:
Department of the Interior:

Legislative Progress

Reported
Introduced Committee Passed
Nov 21, 2024

Reported by Mr. Manchin, with an amendment

May 23, 2024

Mr. Daines introduced the following bill; which was read twice …

Stakeholder Effects

cui bono?

How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.

Mining
1 mention across 1 clause
+1 positive

Coal mining company (Bull Mountains Mine No. 1 leaseholder)

Government
1 mention across 1 clause
-1 negative

Department of the Interior

Environment
1 mention across 1 clause
-1 negative

Environmental and conservation groups

General Public
1 mention across 1 clause
?1 uncertain

Local communities in Musselshell County, Montana

1/2
sections analyzed
Full impact breakdown

Bill Structure & Actor Mappings

Who is "The Secretary" in each section?

Domains
Energy Public Lands Mining
Actor Mappings
"the_secretary"
→ Secretary of the Interior
"principal_deputy"
→ Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management

Key Definitions

Terms defined in this bill

1 term
"Bull Mountains Mining Plan Modification" §1(a)

Amendment 3, Bull Mountains Mine No. 1, Mining Plan Modification for Federal Coal Lease MTM 97988, that was approved by Department of the Interior Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management in a concurrence memorandum, dated November 18, 2020

We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.

Learn more about our methodology