President Trump on Tuesday is expected to sign an executive order aiming to bolster U.S. coal mining.
In the order, Trump will define coal as a “mineral,” allowing it to benefit from a previous executive order bolstering mining that — among other things — used presidential wartime authorities to expedite production.
That order also requires federal agencies to speed up approvals for mines and prioritize mining on federal lands — which may now extend to coal.
Under the new coal-specific order, the administration will also seek to exclude coal projects from environmental reviews. And it will direct the administration to prioritize coal production on federal lands
A White House fact sheet also says that the order pushes for coal to power artificial intelligence — but does not say how.
The order will also direct the Energy Department to weigh whether it should consider coal to be a “critical mineral” — which could grant it further preference under federal regulations.
