BOZEMAN – Gov. Brian Schweitzer says Montana could gain $7 billion over the next three decades from the mining of Otter Creek coal near Ashland, and he wants the Legislature to consider earmarking some of that money for college students in the state and energy research.
Schweitzer told the Bozeman Daily Chronicle this week that a portion of the coal revenue should go toward an energy and science education system that is “second to none.” He said about $1 billion could be used to offer free or reduced tuition to Montana high school graduates who go to Montana colleges to study math, science, medicine or engineering. Another $1 billion could be used to create a Montana Institute of Technology in Energy, he said.
Schweitzer told the newspaper that, by law, royalties from selling state-owned coal must go to Montana’s kindergarten-to-12th-grade schools. He said Otter Creek could generate about $2 billion for schools over the next 30 years on top of $5 billion the state stands to gain in coal severance taxes from the mining. That could be used for college scholarships and the energy research institute.
In March, the governor and four other elected state leaders on the State Land Board voted 3-2 to sign a deal with Arch Coal Inc. The coal giant, which says opening the mine could take five years, agreed to pay $86 million up front to Montana for the right to mine coal on state lands, plus future royalties.
The governor’s idea drew support Tuesday from Secretary of State Linda McCulloch but prompted criticism from the Sierra Club, one of four environmental groups that have filed two lawsuits to block the mine.
“I’ve always been a person who thinks putting money into education is an excellent idea,” said McCulloch, former state superintendent of public instruction and a member of the Land Board who voted for the deal with Arch. Denise Juneau, the current state superintendent of public instruction who voted against the Otter Creek sale, could not be reached for comment on the governor’s proposal.
Meanwhile, Mike Scott with the Sierra Club questioned whether the mine will ever open because federal law that protects watersheds makes it “almost impossible” and building a railroad to reach the coal is “absurdly expensive.”
“I think (the governor) is using this promise of billions to distract people from the very real consequences of coal mines and the destructive force of burning coal on the climate,” he said. “We’ve heard about ‘clean coal’ technology for decades yet not seen it deployed because it does not exist.”
Scott said some people supported Otter Creek thinking it would pump money into schools, but the upfront money that would go to schools would merely displace other state funds, not boost total school spending.