Citing a “national energy emergency,” the federal government gave a green light Friday to a long-delayed expansion of Signal Peak Energy’s Bull Mountains coal mine near Billings.

The expansion of the underground mine, which exports coal to Japan and South Korea, has been repeatedly delayed by court orders finding that the federal government’s environmental vetting of the project was inadequate.

“President Trump’s leadership in declaring a national energy emergency is allowing use to act decisively, cut bureaucratic delays and secure America’s future through energy independence and strategic exports,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a press release.

Earlier this year, the department made a favorable decision about the expansion using new “alternative arrangements for compliance” w

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