Landowners and downstream water users were successful in gaining a review of the status of reclamation by federal and state agencies overseeing mining at Cloud Peak Energy’s Spring Creek Mine in southeastern Montana. Federal Judge Susan Watters affirmed an earlier decision by Magistrate Judge Carolyn Ostby calling for the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) to take a “hard look” before it approves mining permits on federally owned coal.
The Northern Plains Resource Council, WORC, and WildEarth Guardians sued the agency, claiming it did not adequately include the public in the mine permitting process. The groups also asserted that the government failed to require reclamation at the now 35-year-old open pit mine and to adequately evaluate air quality impacts.
“Our bottom line objective is ensuring that regulatory agencies begin to take seriously the obvious lack of reclamation at this mine,” said Bob LeResche of Sheridan, Wyo., who leads WORC’s coal team. “This order is designed to help close the growing gap between mined land and fully reclaimed land that has met the standards required for final bond release.”