BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A coalition of U.S. states, environmentalists and an American Indian tribe are seeking to revive a moratorium on coal sales from public lands in the West.

The moratorium was imposed under former President Barack Obama then dropped by the Trump administration as part of its drive to boost U.S. energy production.

A lawsuit in the dispute centers on whether the Trump administration looked closely enough at climate change and other effects from burning coal.

A years-long decline in U.S. coal production has accelerated during the coronavirus pandemic but lease sales continue.

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