I am a landowner in the Bull Mountains north of Billings. My property sits next to Montana’s only underground coal mine, operated by Signal Peak Energy. Like my neighbors, I live here because I love the open space, rugged sandstone cliffs, abundant wildlife, and easy access to public lands. Many of my neighbors raise cattle, and I appreciate the longtime ranching history that is part of our culture. 

When coal was first developed in this region, locals were promised that ranching and coal mining could co-exist. That promise has not been kept, harming landowners and leaving mine workers in a vulnerable spot. Most landowners know folks who earn an honest living at the mine. We respect their hard work, and we get along well. Unfortunately, Signal Peak’s wealthy executives and out-of-state owners have a history of criminal activity and irresponsible behavior that has harmed the clean water, wildlife, and working landscapes that ranchers and landowners rely on. Their recklessness also threatens the job security of mine workers who never know what damage could be done by their bosses’ next scandal. 

Signal Peak is currently on probation with the U.S. Department of Justice after criminal convictions for environmental and safety violations. The federal investigation into Signal Peak and its associates also led to convictions for bank fraud, cocaine trafficking, firearm violations, tax evasion, and money laundering. Despite these criminal violations, Signal Peak owners are still trying to sidestep federal law that requires a proper analysis of how mining activity will further impact the land and limited water resources that have already suffered damage and degradation from mining.

Sadly, Sen. Steve Daines, who has received well over a million dollars in campaign contributions from extractive industries, is bending over backwards to help Signal Peak owners evade these federal laws. Sen. Daines introduced a complicated bill, S.4444, that would transfer federally-owned Bull Mountain coal and almost 1,000 acres of our public lands to a wealthy family (the Hope Family Trust) in exchange for coal owned by the Hope Family Trust on the Crow Reservation. Daines purports that the Crow Tribe would share revenue from the Bull Mountain coal with the Hope Family when it’s mined, but folks from the Crow community have gone on record opposing the bill. They contend the revenue sharing claims are deeply misleading and say it would be a “grave injustice to allow this bill to pass.” 

The motivation is clear.

Daines’ wants to shift our publicly-owned coal into wealthy private hands so that his corporate cronies can evade federal oversight. If our publicly-owned coal is traded away, protections for local land and water are swept aside at the same time. This means landowners like me and my ranching neighbors who have already experienced property damage from mining activity are hung out to dry. And we’re not the only losers in this scheme. Montana taxpayers would also take a seven-figure hit annually. 

The Montana Department of Revenue estimates that “the State will lose approximately $1.2 million in revenue per year between 2024 and 2028” due to lost mineral royalties.  That means less money for our schools, emergency responders, and roads. 

And, the roughly 1,000 acres of public land Daines’ bill gives to a wealthy family includes some of the only access points in the Bulls where Musselshell and Yellowstone County residents hunt turkey, deer, and elk.

This bill is why people are so frustrated with politics. It’s more of the same. Corporations and wealthy private interests get richer while everyday Montanans fall further behind. In this case, we lose public lands, local revenue, and private property protections.

We only ask Signal Peak to follow the law and manage their mining responsibly. We all lose when politicians use backroom deals to shortcut the law. 

Tom Baratta is the chairman of the Bull Mountain Land Alliance, a grassroots conservation and family agricultural organization.