"WASHINGTON — The Interior Department said Thursday it is changing the way it values coal mined from public lands in the West to make sure mining companies are not shortchanging taxpayers on sales to Asia and other markets.

A final rule issued Thursday comes after coal exports surged in recent years amid a weak U.S. market.

Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said the updated rule will ensure that taxpayers receive "every dollar due" from coal leases on federal lands, a billion-dollar-a-year program that accounts for more than 40 percent of U.S. coal production."

Matthew Daly reports for the Associated Press June 30, 2016. [2]