TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – US Interior Secretary Sally Jewell on Friday stopped issuing new coal leases on federal land, pending a three-year programmatic environmental impact statement (PEIS).

Marking another milestone in US President Barack Obama’s strategic plans to break away from fossil fuels and move the country towards a clean-energy economy, the review would examine issues such as how, when and where to lease; how to account for the environmental and public health impacts of federal coal production; and how to ensure American taxpayers were earning a fair return for the use of their public resources.

“The idea that future coal leasing requires a pause to evaluate environmental impacts defies credulity. Every federal coal lease sale and subsequent mining project must pass multiple levels and sequences of both federal and state evaluation. It is stunning that the administration believes a process that already pushes the development of coal projects beyond a decade needs more red tape and delays," stated National Mining Association president and CEO Hal Quinn.

Taxpayer-owned federal lands supply roughly 40% of all US coal output.

“Despite the impediments of above-market royalty rates and job-crushing red tape, the coal supply being cut off by today’s action has been the source of the lowest-cost and most reliable electricity, keeping America’s lights on and people working. Apparently, coal’s resilience poses a threat to the administration’s policies to move America away from affordable, reliable and secure energy," Quinn said.

While there would be limited common-sense exceptions to the pause, including for metallurgical coal (typically used in steel production), small lease modifications and emergency leasing, these actions were expected to build on existing efforts to modernise the federal coal programme. This included the Office of Natural Resources Revenue’s work to finalise a proposed rule to ensure that the valuation process for federal and American Indian coal resources better reflected the changing energy industry, while protecting taxpayers and American Indian assets.

“We haven’t undertaken a comprehensive review of the programme in more than 30 years and we have an obligation to current and future generations to ensure the federal coal programme delivers a fair return to American taxpayers and takes into account its impact on climate change,” Jewell stated.

Jewell said the review would examine concerns pointed out by the Government Accountability Office and the Interior Department's Inspector General, as well as members of Congress and the public.

Jewell added that the Interior Department would also adopt measures to boost transparency of federal coal leasing. Measures included establishing a public database to show the carbon emitted from fossil fuels developed on public lands, posting online pending requests to lease coal or reduce government royalties, and capturing methane emissions from mines.

The programmatic review would include opportunities for public participation. The PEIS would kick off with public sessions early this year to help determine the precise scope of the review. The Interior Department planned to release an interim report by the end of 2016.

Falling prices and tighter legislation have wreaked havoc on the North American coal industry in recent times, forcing major players such as Arch Coal, Walter Coal, Patriot Coal and Alpha Natural Resources, to file for bankruptcy.