===Arch Coal submits application for strip mining permit at Otter Creek===
On August 14, 2012 it was reported that [[Arch Coal]], which owns the rights to mine approximately 1.5-billion tons of coal in southeastern Montana's section of the Powder River Basin, had submitted an application to mine the proposed Otter Creek Coal Mine.<ref>[http://www.greatfallstribune.com/article/20120814/NEWS01/308140011/Arch-Coal-submits-application-strip-mining-permit-Otter-Creek-?odyssey=nav|head&gcheck=1&nclick_check=1 "Arch Coal submits application for strip mining permit at Otter Creek"] John S. Adams, Great Falls Tribune, August 14, 2012.</ref>
==Coal mining to expand on public lands==