The federal government has agreed to give state regulators an extension to respond to its inquiry into potential violations of mining regulations.
The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, OSMRE, sent two Ten-Day Notices to the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality on January 21st. The notices asked the state to take a closer look at whether two bankrupt coal companies are out of compliance with federal and state mining regulations.
The issue is that Alpha Natural Resources and Arch Coal may not have sufficient reclamation bonding in place as both continue to mine coal.
The DEQ now has more time to correct the potential violations or explain why it can't. OSMRE has given regulators until February 22nd to respond to the Ten-Day Notice concerning Arch Coal and Febuary 12th for Alpha Natural Resources.