Battle in the Bull Mountains: Northern Plains files suit to overturn coal leaseSep 1 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Tom Howard Billings Gazette, Mont.
Cracks in the ground, some deeper than a man's height, are cropping up on hillsides in the Bull Mountains. The fissures are the direct result of mining operations from Montana's only underground coal mine, owned by Signal Peak Energy. The mine has been in operation since 2009, employs more than 300 workers and produced 8.7 million tons of coal last year. In the longwall mining method used by Signal Peak, a massive machine shears coal from a long face, called a panel. The coal leaves the mine on a conveyor belt. A series of hydraulic jacks support the roof. But as the coal seam is excavated, the roof jacks are moved and the ceiling behind it is allowed to collapse. This "controlled subsidence" is a source of concern for local ranchers, and is a key factor in a federal lawsuit that seeks to void a federal coal lease that would allow Signal Peak to mine some 60 million tons of coal. Last May the Northern Plains Resource Council sued the Bureau of Land Management, alleging that the federal agency didn't adequately address serious environmental issues when it approved the coal lease in 2012. After the lease was approved, Northern Plains, an environmental and agricultural organization, filed an unsuccessful administrative appeal to the Board of Land Appeals. After that appeal was denied, Northern Plains asked a federal court to void the federal coal lease until a more thorough environmental review can take place. "The environmental, economic and regional interests of Northern Plains' members have been, are being, and will be adversely affected by the actions of the defendant," the complaint says. Rancher Steve Charter, who is chairman of Northern Plains, grazes cattle in the area where the mine operates. He worries that subsidence resulting from mine operations is already affecting springs that are used to water his cattle. "We're trying to get the BLM to make some stipulations as far as water and subsidence," Charter said. "We're asking for a stipulation in the lease requiring subsidence repair and replacement of water." He said Signal Peak has begun paying more attention to the cracks compared to when the mine first started operation. "In the beginning the company was reluctant to fill them in, but within just the last year they've gotten serious," Charter said. In an environmental impact statement conducted in 1992 by the Department of State Lands, predicted that the "most surface cracks are expected to close during the first two years after mining," and that the effects on the surface "would be minor over the short term and negligible over the long term." In fact, the cracks and fissures "present a real, significant and ongoing hazard to the owners and users of the surface estate," the complaint says. Northern Plains alleges the BLM didn't address the cumulative impact of sustained mining operations. Specifically, the agency relied on an outdated 20-year-old environmental study when it prepared to lease the coal "Basically, they lifted the data from 1990, but we're getting different results than what they predicted," Charter said. "They were using this stale data when they could have gone out there and found out the real story." In addition to the impacts of expanding current mining methods, Northern Plains members are concerned about the impacts of new mining methods, such as open-pit surface mining, as the mine expands. "Signal Peak Energy is talking about strip mining in the Bulls, as well as mining additional seams of the coal that they already have," said Ellen Pfister who ranches above Signal Peak Energy's Bull Mountain coal mine. "The BLM's coal lease gave Signal Peak 25 seams of coal, and they're already talking about mining three of them, even though the BLM only looked at the impacts and charged them for mining one. If they mine under my ranch three-plus times to get at those other seams, I worry that I'm done for." In addition to the impacts of coal mining, landowners are concerned about what they believe is a hidden subsidy in the coal lease. "By giving away 25 coal seams for the price of one, the BLM has shorted taxpayers out of an incredible amount of revenue," said Charter. "With evidence that Vladimir Putin may secretly control up to 75 percent of part-owner Gunvor, it looks like the BLM might have cut a sweetheart deal for Putin's golden parachute. We shouldn't subsidize hostile foreign interests. The BLM ought to have to take a look at everything they're giving away and to whom." Gunvor, an international commodities trader, bought into the coal mine in 2011 to boost coal exports. Bureau of Land Management spokeswoman Mel Lloyd said the agency is reviewing the lawsuit with its attorneys. http://www.energycentral.com/functional/news/news_detail.cfm?did=33538693& |