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Congressman Steve Daines and Crow Tribe Chairman Darrin Old Coyote today spoke before a House Natural Resources subcommittee hearing on Powder River Basin coal mining, citing its economic benefits to Montana and the Crow Tribe and the importance of responsible coal development in maintaining an affordable source of energy for American families and small businesses.

“The Powder River Basin coal plays a big role in my home state of Montana. Just last year, coal generated $118 million in revenues for our state,” Daines stated during the hearing.“Coal mining in Montana sustains 864 direct jobs—these are good, high-paying jobs with good benefits— and is projected to grow to almost 1,300 direct jobs from existing and new mines that are coming online.”

“Still, unfortunately, some areas of our state have double digit unemployment,” Daines continued.“Future generations leave our state to find good paying jobs elsewhere. Coal is part of the solution in Montana to keeping kids here that want to call Montana home.”

Daines commended Chairman Old Coyote’s work to responsibly develop the Crow Tribe’s resources and his committed to growing economic opportunity on the Crow Reservation.

“Chairman Old Coyote continues to lead the Crow Tribe in responsible, beneficial partnerships with coal developers like Westmoreland and Cloud Peak so that his tribal members have opportunities for good paying jobs,” Daines stated. “I’m glad the Chairman is here today to share his mission to responsibly develop our natural resources that our state has been blessed with so that our kids—so that Chairman Old Coyote’s kids— can continue to call Montana home.”

Chairman Old Coyote spoke of the recent agreement between the Crow Tribe and Cloud Peak Energy allowing for the development of coal reserves located within the borders of the Crow Reservation. The agreement would open up access to more than 1.4 billion tons of coal in the North Powder River Basin, injecting millions of dollars into the Crow Reservation economy.

“Today, the Crow Nation desires to develop its vast coal resources not only for itself, but for our energy partners, the surrounding communities and for the United States. By developing Crow coal via domestic markets, export terminals and coal conversion, we firmly believe we can help ourselves while simultaneously meeting national energy goals -- achieving energy independence, securing a domestic supply of valuable energy, and reducing the country's dependence on foreign oil,” Chairman Old Coyote stated in his testimony.“I simply desire for the Crow Nation to become self-sufficient by developing its own coal resources and to provide basic services for the health, hopes and future of the Crow people. With help from you - our historic treaty ally – in leveling the energy development playing field, we can achieve my vision and both benefit immensely.”

Daines discussed his recent tour of the PPL coal-fired power plant in Colstrip, noting Montana gets more than half its power from coal, keeping electricity prices low. The average retail price in Montana is currently 8.42 cents per kilowatt hour, among the lowest in the nation.

Daines also noted that Montana contains more coal reserves than any other state and ranks number six overall in coal production nationwide. The Powder River Basin, which spans across southern Montana and northern Wyoming, contains nearly 3,400 million tons of coal reserves.