One of the privileges of being born in Montana and having in-laws in South Dakota is that I’ve had the chance to visit the Powder River Basin a number of times. It’s a region in Montana and Wyoming that now supplies around 40% of the nation’s coal. My most recent visit to the basin came during the Mining History Association’s 2018 conference in South Dakota’s Black Hills–an event that included a fantastic visit to the Wyodak Mine (run by Black Hills Power).
The COVID-19 pandemic has only accelerated a trend away from coal across both the U.S. and the world. Back in the 1970s, though, coal was actually experiencing an American revival. A document that I viewed on a research trip a few years ago to the Montana Historical Society provides some context to that era’s energy debate.
On May 16, 1974, Jack A. Barnett, Executive Director of the Western States Water Council, composed a worried report that rebuked the federal government’s approach to energy.
The Western States’ Water Council consisted of representatives appointed by the governors of western states. (The council, formed in 1965, still exists today.) Barnett was sounding the alarm. The Organization of Arab Petroleum Countries (OAPEC) had proclaimed an oil embargo in 1973 in response to U.S. efforts to supply the Israeli military. The resulting crisis, which lasted well into 1974, meant gas lines for blocks and a panic across the U.S. In November 1973 President Richard Nixon called for “Project Independence.” The project sought to bolster domestic energy sources so that the U.S. would no longer have to depend on foreign oil. A rush to the Great Plains and western mountains for energy sources like coal, oil shale, and uranium ensued.
Most governments of western states were clearly unprepared for the sudden increase in energy development. As Barnett wrote to the water resources staff and council:
“There are rumors and indications that in the national interests the rights of the Western States may have to be scrutinized. States’ rights may interfere with high priority national energy development plans.”
New coal generating plants on the western plains were of particular concern to states like Montana. Barnett worried about the large amounts of water needed for these plants, including four proposed facilities at Colstrip in Montana. Would the American West simply serve as an exporter of coal energy to the rest of America? Would it have more say in the economic and environmental impact of energy development?
The western energy boom indeed meant additional mining across the West, much of which was welcomed by western communities, but some of which came under attack by residents worried about their land, water, and rights.
While both oil shale development and uranium mining underwent a bust during the early 1980s, coal mining on the Plains, particularly in the Powder River Basin, continued apace, over-taking Appalachian coal mining in its output. Although most mining historians focus on the industry’s more distant past, it’s worth thinking more about this more recent history as we determine why coal mining persists in some places but not in others. (Thankfully, historians like Ryan Driskell Tate are now starting to dive into the history of Powder River coal.)
It’s also worth thinking more about fights over outsiders’ intrusions–whether those outsiders represented corporate interests or the federal government. The American West’s history seems replete with “states’ rights” rhetoric, even when it comes to mining.
Document: Jack A. Barnett to the Water Resources Committee, May 16, 1974, Folder 21 “Office of the Governor, 1974,” Box 4, Record Series 443: “Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, Director’s Office Records,” Montana Historical Society (Helena, Montana).
