Officials faced with 'structural decline' in coal

CASPER — Since peaking in 2008, coal production nationwide has been on a precipitous decline. Last year, U.S. production volumes reached their lowest since 1975, according to an analysis released Thursday by the Energy Information Administration. A decade ago, in the heydays of the Powder River Basin, Wyoming’s coal epicenter produced over 400 million tons of the commodity. Last year, the basin’s mines pumped out much less, just 267 million tons.

Most Wyoming lawmakers and industry leaders have come around to admitting there’s a problem. Cheaper electricity alternatives, like natu...