Court Rules In Favor Of Powder River Basin Coal Leases

A federal district court judge in Washington, D.C. ruled against several conservation groups, who had challenged the BLM over new coal leases in the Powder River Basin.

The leases would let Cloud Peak Energy mine more than 400-million tons of coal. Shannon Anderson with the Powder River Basin Resource Council says her group opposes the plan because they feel coal companies haven’t been doing adequate reclamation of mines.

“One of the main concerns we have is that the pace of mining production has far out-paced the rate of reclamation,” Anderson said. “What we’d like BLM to do is withhold additional leasing at these coal mines until the mines get caught up with their reclamation requirements.”

The BLM declined to comment on the ruling regarding the leases.