In a recent development, a federal appeals panel overturned a lower court ruling from August 2022, effectively ending an Obama-era moratorium on new federal coal leasing. The ruling, made by a three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, invalidated the decision by Judge Brian Morris of the U.S. District of Montana that reinstated the moratorium.

The National Mining Association (NMA), in collaboration with the States of Montana and Wyoming, led the appeal against the lower court ruling. NMA's President and CEO Rich Nolan hailed the decision as a win for American energy, emphasizing the importance of dismissing what was termed as an "irreparably flawed ruling."

The initial moratorium on all new coal leases on federal land was put in place in 2016 under then-Secretary Sally Jewell. However, former Secretary Ryan Zinke revoked the order a year later, citing that halting the federal coal program for an extended period did not serve the public interest.

Despite current Secretary Deb Haaland's revocation of Zinke's actions in 2021, the coal leasing moratorium was not reinstated. Environmental groups continued to challenge the Zinke order in court, leading to the 2022 ruling that blocked the rescission, even though the Biden administration had already revoked it.

At present, the appeals panel's decision aligned with arguments presented by NMA, Montana, and Wyoming. The ruling clarified that the Haaland Order definitively revoked the Zinke Order, rendering any challenge to the defunct order irrelevant.

In response to this decision, environmental plaintiffs, including Earthjustice, Montana Environmental Information Center, Center for Biological Diversity, Sierra Club, and WildEarth Guardians, expressed their concerns over the implications of the ruling. They urged the Biden administration to take immediate action to prohibit coal leasing on federal lands, emphasizing the need for a swift transition to cleaner energy sources.