GILLETTE - An environmental group says the Bureau of Land Management should conduct a broader analysis of possible climate change effects on the Powder River Basin before it issues more coal leases.

Shannon Anderson, organizer for the Powder River Basin Resource Council, told BLM representatives at a public hearing Wednesday that the analysis should be in a final environmental impact statement for four separate coal lease tracts at the Caballo, Belle Ayr, Cordero Rojo and Coal Creek mines.

Anderson, who was the only person to speak at the hearing, said her group also wants the BLM to look at the impact of mining on air quality in the area, which Anderson said is already in alarming condition.

She said that one online resource for information about pollution problems and toxic chemicals lists Campbell County in the worst 10 percent of the counties in the nation for the amount of dust in the air.

Given that ranking, the BLM should evaluate deeper the impact of mining in the area on air quality, Shannon said.

The Powder River Basin Resource Council is also worried about whether coal companies are keeping up with reclaiming land.

The BLM will continue to take comments on the draft of the environmental impact statement for the South Gillette Area coal lease applications through Dec. 24. The area covers the four separate tracts, but because the tracts are close to each other, the bureau combined them in one environmental evaluation.

In the process of evaluation, the agency assessed the quality, quantity and the market value of coal reserves in the leases. It also assessed the potential environmental damage that leasing those tracts can cause.