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BLM Announces Listening Sessions for Coal Modernization Effort

 

 

 

July 17, 2026 - The Bureau of Land Management has announced two listening sessions – one for the general public and another for industry – on how the BLM could potentially modernize the federal coal program to reflect today’s market conditions, enhance transparency, and improve Fair Market Value (FMV) determinations to ensure fairness and an adequate return for American taxpayers.  

The information will be used to help inform the BLM as it updates its existing coal leasing guidance, which was developed more than a decade ago. Other coal regulations and policies that guide coal lease management have not been updated in over 30 years.  

The BLM is legally required to sell coal leases competitively, and these sessions will help gather input on how to balance sharing process information that industry needs to prepare informed bids with the need to keep individual FMV determinations confidential to preserve competition and ensure a fair return to taxpayers. This initiative supports current administration priorities to remove regulatory barriers and expand domestic energy production to advance American Energy Dominance. 

On July 30, the BLM will conduct a one-time public listening session, and on August 6, 2026, the BLM will conduct a one-time industry listening session to seek individual comments and recommendations. Each session will be approximately four hours long (two hours for FMV discussion and two hours for other lease management discussions) and will be held in a hybrid format to support both in-person participation and virtual access (NOTE: Virtual access will be for listening only; feedback and comments will need to be submitted via email using directions below). Please contact us for reasonable accommodations to participate. 

Written public comments will be accepted by email at BLM_2026_Coal_Modernization_@blm.gov from July 26 to August 10, 2026. The BLM will accept comments from individual persons, entities, or organizations only, and will not accept group or amalgamated comments from multiple persons, entities, or organizations, to avoid implicating the Federal Advisory Committee Act. 

The sessions gather individual feedback and recommendations to help inform potential updates to the coal program, with a focus on modernizing it to reflect current market conditions while protecting the public interest. The dates and locations are listed below, and you are welcome to attend either in person or online. You can register here:

August 6 Listening Session: Register for the Industry Listening Session

The Public Listening Session will be held on July 30, 2026, from 1:00-4:00 PM MDT, at the Denver Marriott West, 1717 Denver West Blvd., Golden, CO, 80401.  

The Industry Stakeholder Listening Session will be held on August 6, 2026, from 1:00-4:00 PM MDT, at Casper College, Gateway Center Building, Room 225, 1910 Lisco Drive, Casper, WY 82601. 

BLM would particularly like to hear from the public regarding the following specific issues: 

  1. Is the current FMV hierarchy approach described in the Coal Valuations Handbook H-3073-1 appropriate for use in today’s market conditions? 

    • What changes to the hierarchy are needed? 

    • What other methods for estimating FMV would be better suited for use in today’s market conditions? 

    • Where would a new method fit in the hierarchy, if applicable? 

  2. Would probabilistic modeling provide more robust FMV analysis?  

    • What are suggestions for incorporating probabilistic modeling into the FMV process?  

    • How should the BLM evaluate a probabilistic model to determine the FMV of a pending coal lease sale? 

  3. Should the BLM contract with third parties for FMV estimates? Should the BLM contract a consistency review for FMV estimates the BLM calculates prior to the lease sale? 

  4. What information related to FMV should the BLM disclose to enhance transparency while still complying with the Mineral Leasing Act’s requirement for competitive bidding, particularly given that roughly 90% of lease sales receive only a single bid? 

  5. What are some other ways the BLM could foster transparency in the FMV process? 

  6. Should the BLM establish a minimum bid on a per-ton basis instead of on a per-acre basis?  

    • How might the BLM make the minimum bid per ton “level” between basins and for various types of markets, operations, and deposits?  

    • Should a minimum bid per ton be established on a regional basis? 

  7. Other post-lease management topics on which BLM seeks input: 

    • Leasing – Lease by application and lease modification process improvements 

    • Exploration license policy improvements 

    • Logical Mining Unit formation, modification, and management 

    • Royalty rate reduction policy improvements 

    • Coal lease suspension policy improvements 

    • Diligent development and continued operation requirement improvements 

    • Advanced royalty policy improvements