A senatorial investigation could shed new light on the ways companies influence the royalties they pay to extract coal from public lands.
credit:
Katie Campbell
An arial view of a coal mine on public land near Gillette, Wyoming. How much the mine's owner pays taxpayers for the coal it sells depends on a complex set of rules.
credit:
Katie Campbell
This dragline excavator was built onsite in the Black Thunder Mine near Gillette, Wyoming. It is used to remove earth and reveal the coal seam below.
credit:
Katie Campbell
Deductions for washing and transporting coal can reduce royalties that must be paid to taxpayers by tens of thousands of dollars per trainload of coal.