Montana activists stop the largest coal mine plant in the United States, 2010-2016

The Powder River Basin, a 20,000 square mile region stretching across Eastern Montana and Wyoming, was long the coal mining hub of North America. In 2022, the region produced over 250 million tons of coal, almost half of the total coal production in the United States that year. The five largest coal mines in the country are in the basin, and in 2009, Arch Coal introduced plans to build the largest coal mine in North America. The mine, called the Otter Creek Mine, was said to have held over 600 million tons of coal, equivalent to the country’s total coal consumption for a year.

In 1971, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management called for an increase in coal production in the North Plain states and planned to aid in the construction of 21 new coal mines in Montana. These plans failed, with only one new mine opening by 1980, as landowners refused to sell their land. A new proposal to build the Tongue River Railroad, connecting Wyoming mines to the new Montana mines was introduced by the Tongue River Company, but went 30 years without construction, due to the necessary lack of funding and support.

In 2011, Arch Coal, along with BNSF Railways and Forrest Mars Jr. bought the Tongue River Company with hopes to revive the railroad plan to service Arch Coal’s new mine in Eastern Montana, the Otter Creek Mine. The mine had been in the planning stages for two years already, and the railway was seen to be the final project that would be critical for the largest mine in North America to run smoothly. Protests against the initial proposal to build the mine occurred even before the new railway plan. In March 2010, when the Montana Land Board prepared to vote on the lease of the land, ranchers, students, and others came together in opposition. Activists from Northern Rockies Rising Tide, an activist group from the basin area, chained themselves to the desks of the Land Board members. However, when the disruption ended, the board voted 3-2 in favor of the lease. While the protest failed, it revealed what was at stake in the decision for Montanans, and sparked many actions for years to come.

Coal trains became increasingly disruptive to Montana residents in 2011. The trains ran through Montana’s largest cities, where tracks were typically found in low-income neighborhoods. The polluting effects of the trains caused unrest among residents and local students, which led to the formation of the Blue Skies Campaign. The group focused on protesting the funders of the coal industry, like Wells Fargo. A number of small protests occurred in Missoula throughout 2011 and 2012, with the first large action in August 2012. The Coal Export Action involved a five day sit-in at the State Capitol protesting the leasing of land to coal companies. Each day, protesters arrived at the statehouse at opening and stayed in place until closing. Statehouse security warned the protesters to leave by closing at 18:00 or they would face arrests. Most protesters left around 17:50 each day. By the end of the sit-in, Helena police arrested twenty-three protesters while hundreds watched on in support.

In 2013, droughts and wildfires led 350-Missoula, an environmental group affiliated with 350.org, to pivot their goals to stopping the construction of the Otter Creek Mine. The Blue Skies Campaign and 350-Missoula aligned their goals and worked together, primarily to urge Montana’s politicians to take a stance on the issue by writing letters and protesting at government buildings. As a result, in 2014, environmental reviews of the mine project included public hearings. With discontent spreading throughout the state, other groups, including Glacier Climate Action in Whitefish, got their city councils to do the same. 

Meanwhile, the first railroad protests began in April 2014, when over one thousand Montanans went to the coal railroad tracks to protest. Statewide support of the campaign drew major news coverage, and the supporter base grew.

The campaign continued to grow in 2015, when a railroad blockade of protesters stopped a train from entering Missoula for hours. Similar, smaller actions occurred around the state for months until the Surface Transportation Board opened a period for public comments in the summer of 2015. The Board collected over 4,000 comments in Missoula, while local politicians and governments voiced their own concerns. At the end of the public comment period, over 100,000 remarks had been collected by the Board. In the fall, hundreds of protesters met at the State Capitol in Helena for the “Keep It In The Ground” rally, while regional and global organizations began to pressure Arch Coal to stop the mine.

Throughout the processes of construction and the protests, Arch Coal faced other issues with the state of the coal industry. Coal consumption was decreasing around the world, especially in China and India. The United States failed to meet its export goals, and the industry faced serious threats to its business. In January 2016, Arch Coal filed for bankruptcy, leaving the future of the Otter Creek Mine in question. Weeks later on March 10, 2016, Arch Coal announced the suspension of the Otter Creek Mine project. 

The Blue Skies Campaign and 350-Missoula, along with similar campaigns with similar goals from Earthjustice, Montana Environmental Center, Sierra Club, Northern Plains Resource Center, National Wildlife Federation, Northern Rockies Rising Tide, and more, orchestrated this state-wide campaign to stop the mine. In conjunction with a slowing coal industry and a series of troubled years for Arch Coal, the campaign's goals to end the production of coal were largely met.