U.S. Government Said to Undervalue Coal Leases

The federal coal leasing program run by the Bureau of Land Management operates without sufficient oversight or a consistent means of ensuring that fair prices are paid for the leases, a report released on Tuesday said.

The report, compiled by the Government Accountability Office, focused largely on the Mountain West, where coal companies have leased land from the federal government for decades.  It noted that most coal lease sales since 1990 had only one bidder, and said that the bureau did not always adequately assess the market value of the leases or document reasons for accepting bids below that value.

Senator Edward J. Markey, Democrat of Massachusetts, who had requested the review in his previous position as a member of the House Natural Resources Committee, called for a temporary suspension of new coal leases in light of the report.

U.S. Government Said to Undervalue Coal Leases