Montanta's Brian Schweitzer has gotten the nickname "Coal Cowboy" from his fe4llow Montanans. Its a well deserved nickname too. Schweitzer dismissed a week of protests at the Capital in Helena with 24 people being arrested over the five day protest.
Montana Land Board shrugs off coal protest
As far as Gov. Brian Schweitzer is concerned, the issue is settled.
"Is what they are asking me, is to give Arch Coal their $86 million back?" said Schweitzer, who chairs the Land Board and leaves office at year's end. "The Land Board has made its decision."
"There are boilers being built all over the world that will be burn coal for the next 30 years," Schweitzer said. "Should we just stand back and watch our competitors supply that coal?"
The Land Board earlier this month moved ahead with another coal deal that would expand the Bull Mountain Mine, despite opposition from protest organizers with the Missoula-based Blue Skies Campaign. The group said its larger request is for the state to reject the much more massive Otter Creek project.
their "There are boilers being built all over the world that will be burn coal for the next 30 years," Schweitzer said. "Should we just stand back and watch our competitors supply that coal?"
The Land Board earlier this month moved ahead with another coal deal that would expand the Bull Mountain Mine, despite opposition from protest organizers with the Missoula-based Blue Skies Campaign. The group said its larger request is for the state to reject the much more massive Otter Creek project.
The Land Board's decision earlier this month refused to allow any public comments on their capricious ruling, saying that could be done on line when in fact there was no forum for online comments.
The State of Montana only gets a paltry 15 cents per ton of coal and most of the mine jobs in the Powder River Basin have gone to residents of Wyoming. This is a bad deal for the people of Montana and people everywhere.
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