Four coal leases adjacent to existing strip mines in the Powder River Basin, the largest coal-producing region in the United States, will total 758 million tons and take between 10 and 20 years to mine, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.

Salazar's Tuesday announcement of the lease auctions comes despite the Obama administration's push to transition the nation's energy supply to cleaner, renewable sources but is in line with the administration's "all of the above" energy policy that relies on both renewable and non-renewable sources, Salazar said.

"The president also knows that we need to embrace and encourage safe development of traditional energy -- coal, oil, gas and nuclear," he said.

Jeremy Nichols of WildEarth Guardians, an environmental group, said the organization is challenging two of the proposed coal leases in court on climate-change grounds and plans to contest the others.

"We'll be challenging Salazar's call for more dirty energy," Nichols said. "It's the last thing this country needs or can afford."

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