Committee hears push to let Bull Mountains Mine continue federal coal production while EIS is completed

Representative Troy Downing and Signal Peak Energy told the House Natural Resources subcommittee that an ongoing federal review is threatening jobs at the Bull Mountains Mine in eastern Montana and asked Congress to pass H.R. 931 to allow limited mining during a delayed environmental-impact review.

Representative Troy Downing, sponsor of H.R. 931, said without congressional action "Montana's only underground coal mine could be forced to shut down by the end of the year." Parker Phipps, president and CEO of Signal Peak Energy, testified that the company operates the Bull Mountains Mine under a federal lease and that delays in the Office of Surface Mining's (OSM) work on a new environmental impact statement (EIS) have effectively barred access to federal coal in a checkerboard of federal, state and private holdings.

Phipps provided company figures for the record: he said that in 2022 Signal Peak paid $31,000,000 in federal royalties and that in 2023 the company paid more than $93,000,000 in state and local taxes. He told the committee the operation currently employs about 250 people in eastern Montana and that without resumed access to a limited federal section of the lease area the company would begin winding down operations.

Signal Peak has been subject to repeated litigation and multiple NEPA reviews. Phipps said the company has undergone four NEPA reviews related to the mine-plan modification and that OSM had represented it would complete the required EIS in July 2024 but missed several deadlines. He said Signal Peak has spent millions preparing for compliance and that H.R. 931 would allow the company to mine a narrowly defined portion of leased federal coal under the existing mine plan until OSM completes its EIS, providing roughly 18 months of supply to keep the longwall operation intact.

Committee questioning focused on process and timing. Representative Frank noted that the Fiscal Responsibility Act and related permitting reforms set time limits for NEPA reviews and asked whether OSM had consulted with the company about schedule changes; Phipps said it had not. Members also raised company history and compliance: Representative Rivas referenced past criminal matters and enforcement actions involving former Signal Peak executives; Phipps responded that those matters predated his tenure and said Signal Peak "currently complies with all Federal and State laws."

There were no committee votes; the hearing record was left open for follow-up questions and written materials.