by Wyoming Liberty Group Staff The bankruptcy of Blackjewel LLC on July 1st, 2019, led to the closure of their operations in Wyoming at the Bella Ayr and Eagle Butte mines. Around 600 miners were put out of work. These mines generate around $30.4 million1 a year in severance taxes (tax on minerals taken from the ground), and about $15.2 million2 a ...

by Philip Baron It is no secret that coal provides a large chunk of the Wyoming's tax revenue. The coal industry in Wyoming was responsible for about $1 billion in tax revenue to state and local governments in 2013, according to the Wyoming Mining Association. This revenue has been shrinking since 2015 with the declining demand for coal. Coal is un...

by Philip Baron The State of Wyoming has a new law on the books that will obligate electric, public utilities who are not cooperatives, to purchase coal-generated electricity. The law also limits the rate of recovery costs for the purchaser of the retired plant. Cost recovery is the costs to regain the value of an expense, usually done as the depre...