US rejects bid to buy 167 million tons of coal on public lands for less than a penny per ton

+5 US rejects bid to buy 167 million tons of coal on public lands for less than a penny per ton BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Federal officials rejected a company's bid to acquire 167 million tons of coal on public lands in Montana for less than a penny per ton, in what would have been the biggest U.S. government coal sale in more than a decade.