Western Organization of Resource Councils Education Project
For The Energy Education Program
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Amount$900,000
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Program
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Date Awarded7/11/2016
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Term24 Months
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Type of SupportGeneral Support/Program
Strategies
Overview
The Powder River Basin accounts for nearly half of all coal mined in the United States. Coal burned from the basin accounts for about 14 percent of all carbon emissions in the country. Recent studies have also shown that taxpayers receive far less than they should in payments for the coal, and, because of the downturn in the industry, three of the four companies that mine in the Powder River Basin have gone bankrupt over the last year, potentially burdening taxpayers with billions of dollars in reclamation responsibility. This renewal grant to the Western Organization of Resource Councils Education Project will support its efforts to reduce coal mining in the Powder River Basin and ensure taxpayers are not put at risk.
About the Grantee
Grantee Website
www.worc.org
Address
220 South 27th Street Suite B, Billings, MT, 59101-4106, United States
Grants to this Grantee
for general operating support
Formed in 1989, the WORC Education Project is a 501(c)(3) organization supporting the educational and charitable activities of the Western Organization of Resource Councils. This regional network of community-based organizations builds grassroots leadership through community organizing, to protect clean air, water, and public health; reduce emissions of greenhouse gasses; ensure full reclamation and a fair return to taxpayers; and protect the rights of local residents, who often have little control over development on their land or next door. (Substrategy: Advance Conservation Protections)
for support of the WORC Energy Education program
The resource councils are a network of rancher and citizen groups who will use the grant to minimize the impacts of oil and gas development on public lands. With Foundation support, the organization would take advantage of new Department of the Interior oil and gas leasing reforms to protect 600,000 acres of sensitive lands in Wyoming, Colorado, and Montana from leasing; increase the bonding and mitigation requirements for fossil-energy companies; and build a broader base of support among ranchers for public and private land protection. The councils plan to coordinate closely with the Western Energy Project, a Hewlett Foundation-supported West-wide fossil energy reform effort.
