Viewpoint: Sen. Daines advocates for corrupt coal, undermines Montanans
Erik Nylund
“When someone shows you who they are, believe them.”
Sen. Steve Daines is showing us that he is someone who will change the law to cater to a corrupt billion-dollar company while ignoring its shady, illegal, and dangerous behavior.
Sen. Daines is pushing bills through Congress that would enable Signal Peak Energy to expand operations at the Bull Mountains coal mine. Nevermind indictments, convictions, and strange relationships with Russian oligarchs. Even without all that context, these bills don’t pass the smell test.
One bill (S. 239) privatizes coal that is currently on public land and gifts both the coal and the public lands to a private family trust. Sen. Daines is using his position as a lawmaker to benefit private entities, and his promises not to sell public lands are hollow when he’s giving them away for free. The coal is shipped overseas to fuel power plants in Japan, South Korea, and Chile, so it isn’t even meeting his faux “American energy” talking points.
The other bill (S. 362) allows Signal Peak to evade any real environmental review in an area that is already plagued by serious issues for a company with a long list of fines and even criminal convictions. Existing cracks in the landscape and dewatered wells and springs necessary for ranching and wildlife are already evident and will continue on Sen. Daines’ watch.
Signal Peak has been fined for bribing workers who were injured on the job, illegally disposing of toxic waste at various locations on the mine site and lying on permit applications to the state. Such illegal activity would be cause for permit revocation, but somehow Signal Peak gets favors instead. Corporate leaders and associations have been convicted or pled guilty to cocaine trafficking, worker endangerment, firearms violations, embezzlement, bribery, tax evasion, money laundering, and environmental violations.
The owners of the Bull Mountains coal mine are notorious in their own rights. The mine is owned by Global Mining Holding Company whose three owners are FirstEnergy (recently fined $350 million for bribery and lying on financial reports); Gunvor Group (recently fined $757 million for two separate international bribery scandals); and the Boich Group of Ohio (infamous for being connected to the Ohio bribery scandal). That’s more than $1 billion in fines paid by the owners of the mine, on top of the fines paid by Signal Peak Energy itself.
This is well-documented, so why is Sen. Daines continuously going to bat for a company that is so clearly corrupt? They hire slick lobbyists and PR firms to pretend they’ve somehow changed, but the company now wants legislation that grants it favors over all other mining companies in Montana.
If Sen. Daines really cared about Montana jobs and American energy, he’d be supporting viable energy projects here in Montana and improving our electrical grid instead of worrying about foreign power needs. Perhaps he could make sure Signal Peak pays its share of taxes to Musselshell County and show consideration for the Montanans who live in the area.
Instead, Sen. Daines is all about giving Signal Peak a free pass, about enriching a private family trust, and about undercutting everyday Montanans to benefit foreign countries.
We have to believe Sen. Daines when he shows us his values. Sen. Daines – and whomever supports his scheme – is on the wrong side of history for siding with this company over Montanans.
Erik Nylund worked for nearly 17 years for Senator Tester as his Natural Resources Liaison, advocating for responsible resource development.