US issues expedited permit for proposed Tennessee coal mine

(Reuters) -The Trump administration said it permitted a proposed coal mine in Claiborne County, Tennessee on Tuesday under an expedited process aimed at accelerating federal environmental reviews of energy projects.

In a statement, the Department of the Interior said it granted approval for Hurricane Creek Mining LLC to mine coal on Bryson Mountain in Claiborne County, Tennessee. The mine will produce up to 1.8 million tons of coal over the next decade, the agency said. The site was previously mined at various times between the 1950s and 2010.

The rushed permit is aligned with President Donald Trump's goal to increase coal mining as part of his energy dominance agenda.

The project is on private land but under federal law must be permitted by Interior's Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement.

Hurricane Creek Mining could not immediately be reached for comment.

In April, Interior said it would implement an emergency permitting process for energy and mining projects, slashing approval times that typically take months or years to 28 days.

The department took another action this week to support coal. Interior's Bureau of Land Management on Monday said it is taking public comment on opening up coal leasing on public lands in the Powder River Basin in Montana and Wyoming. Comments will be taken through August 7 on opening up lands that former President Joe Biden put off-limits to leasing.

(Reporting by Nichola Groom; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Daniel Wallis)

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