CLAIBORNE COUNTY, Tenn. (WATE) — A new coal mine has been approved for Claiborne County, with the project expected to produce up to 1.8 million tons of coal and local jobs over the next 10 years.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of the Interior released that it had granted an expedited permit for Hurricane Creek Mining, LLC, to mine coal on Bryson Mountain. The permit was expedited through environmental review under newly established procedures that were created after President Donald Trump declared a national energy emergency earlier this year.

With the permit approved, Hurricane Creek Mining is authorized to surface mine several coal seams on about 635 acres, using augers, highwall and contour methods. The Department of the Interior noted that the coal seams contain specialty market and thermal use coal.

A 66-page permit application with the Department of the Interior’s Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement states that the site has been previously mined from 1950s through 2010. The area contains a total of six stray seams, two sterling seams and two poplar lick seams that range in thickness from less than 12 inches to more than 48 inches, the permit states. The document also mentions that the mine plan also includes 289.54 acres of “potential auger/thin seam mining areas for a total affected area of 924.71 acres.”

According to the permit, the land where the mining will happen is privately owned by CF Ataya LLC, which is an affiliate of The Nature Conservancy, a State Building Commission document notes. The Nature Conservancy states on its website that it is “a global environmental nonprofit working to create a world where people and nature can thrive.” The permit states that the land owner has future plans to benefit wildlife and pollinators.

Specialty coal is primarily used for steel making and special industrial use, including the potential for extraction of rare earth metals or trace minerals, the DOI said. The agency added that occasionally, the coal is blended with low grade coal for electricity generation.

“This project reflects a broader shift, one where American resources are being put to work for American strength,” said Acting Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management Adam Suess. “We’re not just issuing permits—we’re supporting communities, securing supply chains for critical industries, and making sure the U.S. stays competitive in a changing global energy landscape.” 

According to the DOI, the approval of the mining permit “complements” the One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s support for the U.S. coal industry, which reduced royalty rates for mining federal coal and opened millions of acres for federal coal leasing.

Under the newly established procedures the acting assistant secretary of land and minerals management is allowed to adopt alternative arrangements to comply with the National Environment Policy Act before taking actions that are likely to have significant environmental impacts, as well as those that are not likely to have significant environmental impacts. Permit applicants must still agree to mitigate foreseeable significant effects on the quality of the human environment and abide by federal, state and local environmental laws.