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WYOMING v. OKLAHOMA Opinion of the Court

or, alternatively, find the Act severable to the extent it may constitutionally be applied to that utility. Subsequently, the parties requested the Court to enter a stipulated decree adopting the Special Master’s Report and containing conclusions of law.2 If the decree was to rule on the constitutionality of the Act, however, we preferred to have that issue briefed and argued, and the case was set down for oral argument. 501 U. S. 1215 (1991). We now adopt the Special Master’s recommended findings of fact, and, with one exception, his recommended conclusions of law. I The salient facts, gathered from those recommended by the Special Master and from other materials in the record, are as follows. Wyoming is a major coal-producing State and in 1988 shipped coal to 19 other States.3 While the State of Wyoming does not itself sell coal, it does impose a severance tax upon the privilege of severing or extracting coal from land within its boundaries. Wyo. Stat. §§ 39–6–301 to 39–6–308 (1990 and Supp. 1991). The tax is assessed against the person or company extracting the coal and is payable when the coal is extracted. The valuation of the coal for severance tax purposes is based on its fair market value. Wyoming has collected severance taxes on coal extracted by eight 2

In the proposed decree, the parties agreed to the Special Master’s findings of fact and his conclusions that the Act, as applied to the privately owned utilities, violated the Commerce Clause, but that, as applied to the Oklahoma-owned utility, the Act was constitutional. Oklahoma agreed that application of the Act to the private utilities would be enjoined, and Wyoming agreed that the Act would not be enjoined as to the stateowned utility. 3 In 1988, just over 163.8 million tons of Wyoming coal was mined. Only 14.6% of Wyoming’s coal production was sold in-state. Oklahoma purchased 8% of the coal mined, making it the third largest out-of-state consumer, behind Texas at 19.7% and Kansas at 8.3%.