June 16, 2011

The Surface Transportation Board has rejected a request by environmentalists to halt a 121 mile controversial new railroad into the Tongue River region of Montana, stating that environmentalists had failed to show why the $550M railroad needed further environmental review. The Tongue River Railroad Company hopes their new line will open up large new swaths of coal mining by decreasing the cost of getting the mined coal to market, something that has been pushed strongly by Montana governor Brian Schweitzer (D) as part of his decision to lease the Otter Creek coal tracts last year.

Environmentalists had complained that the original environmental impact statement for the railroad was done more than 25 years ago and much of the science behind the EIS and coal burning in general has changed in the interim, especially the science linking the burning of coal to global warming. In response to the decision, the Northern Plains Resource Council said the transportation board was “turning southeast Montana into a sacrifice zone for Asia.” Mike Gustafson, a developer for the railroad said the “TRCC believes the STB decision once again reaffirms the comprehensive environmental analysis completed by the TRRC in its planning.” Other appeals of both the Otter Creek lease and the railroad’s approval are still pending.

Read article at http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/article_bd931a7e-9814-11e0-9861-001cc4c002e0.html

June 16, 2011

Colombia Riverkeeper, and environmental organization, has filed court documents that show that both the Port of St. Helens and the Port of Morrow (near Boardman) are both in negotiations to become coal export terminals to bring coal from Montana and Wyoming to the booming economies in Asia. The documents were filed in the hopes of providing more transparency to the prospect of increased coal transport and export along the Colombia River in Oregon. While officials from the ports have claimed that the documents should remain confidential because they represent delicate business negotiations, Oregon governor John Kitzhaber said development of a terminal “should not happen in the dead of night … We must have an open, vigorous public debate before any projects move forward.”

The ports are two are the latest news in a series of negotiations to try to bring western coal to Asia. Colombia Riverkeeper also set-back Arch Coal’s attempt to build a coal-export terminal in Longview, Washington when it revealed documents that showed that Arch Coal had intended to export far more coal than it claimed on its initial applications. Other groups are gearing up to oppose a terminal in Bellingham, WA proposed by Peabody Coal. Common concerns include the coal-dust from shipping and storing the coal, as well as concerns about whether it makes sense for Washington and Oregon should be exporting coal to be burned in Asia when both states have phased out all in-state coal-burning plants and placed restrictions on purchasing electricity from coal-plants in other states.

Read article at http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/article_114ea17c-9899-11e0-abf1-001cc4c03286.html

June 13, 2011

The United States Supreme Court has let stand a lower court’s decision in a lawsuit between the coal industry and the US government. The dispute centered around a per-mined-ton “abandoned mine fee” that is levied on coal producers to pay for mining activity that predates the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA). The coal industry claimed that it shouldn’t have to pay the fee for coal that was being shipped out of the country, but the district, appellate and US Supreme Court disagreed.

“The message of this long-running legal saga is this: when companies mine coal on American soil, they’re obligated to pay those fees to the Abandoned Mine Land Fund, regardless of where that coal is sold,” said Christopher Holmes, a spokesperson for the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE). “Essentially, the money is used to clean up mine sites, and we have hundreds and thousands of those throughout the United States that require that money, so this is a very big decision.”

Read article at http://www.wfpl.org/2011/06/13/supreme-court-declines-to-hear-coal-lawsuit-against-federal-government

June 10, 2011

The Bureau of Land Management has rejected the West Coal Creek Lease By Application because one of the landowners does not consent to have his land mined. This is possibly the first time that the BLM has ever denied a Lease By Application in the state of Wyoming. In its decision the BLM states that it acted because talks between Arch Coal (owner of the Coal Creek Mine) and Dennis Edwards (owner of a large piece of the proposed expansion), were unable to come to an agreement to allow mining on the land. Further information was not obtained because neither Mr. Edwards or Arch Coal would comment.

The West Coal Creek LBA was originally filed in February 2006.

Read article at http://www.dailymail.com/ap/ApTopStories/201106101129

June 10, 2011

In a decision believed to be the first of its kind in Wyoming, the Bureau of Land Management has denied a coal mine’s request to put a parcel of land up for coal mining. The owner of the surface rights for most of the 1151 acres in the lease proposal refused to consent to the lease of the mineral rights underneath his property. “The BLM has not received a consent document and does not offer for lease qualified surface owner lands at a competitive coal lease sale without such consent,” the agency said in its decision.

The lease was sought by the Coal Creek Mine south of Gillette, WY as a way to expand its coal reserves. However it’s not clear how much impact the decision will have on the mine’s operations; considering that the mine still has more than 600M tons of recoverable reserves, it has more than 50 years of coal mining left at 2010 production levels. The lease application was one of a dozen so called “maintenance leases” that totaled more than 35000 acres and almost 4.5M tons of coal.

Read article at http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/wyoming/article_074a0514-ae5d-5d9e-b153-8c0ed7d508e4.html

June 2, 2011

The Mining Safety and Health Administration has taken over operations of Cleveland-Cliff’s Pinnacle Mine after carbon monoxide levels in the mine spiked. The elevated levels started rising two weeks ago and could be caused by a smoldering fire in the mine, though nobody knows for sure at this point. More than 1.6 million gallons of water have been used to flood the mine in the hopes of extinguishing any fires.

The mine was first switched to non-operational status on May 20. Operators are hopeful that the mine will operational again by July 1.

Read article at http://www.victoriaadvocate.com/news/2011/jun/02/bc-wv-mine-closed2nd-ld-writethru/?business&business-wire

May 31, 2011

A fire in the bag house at Arch Coal’s Coal Creek Mine was caused by coal dust that spontaneously combusted. Firefighters from Wright, WY were called to help put the fire out. No other damage from the fire was reported.

Read article at http://www.basinsradio.com/basin/local/local-news/community-interest/16018-coal-dust-spontaneous-combusts-at-mine-near-wright.html

May 31, 2011

The results of the April 2011 MSHA “impact” inspections have been announced, resulting in a total of 161 citations and orders being issued against eight different coal mining operations. All cited mines were in the eastern region of the US, including Shoemaker and Randolph in West Virginia, the No. 2 and #68 mines in Kentucky, as well as one mine in each of Pennsylvania, Virginia, Tennessee and Alabama.

Among the worst offenders in the sweep were the Vision Coal’s No. 2 mine, which received 37 citations and orders that documented (among other things) that Vision wasn’t properly drilling bore holes to test for methane, and that it was creating a risk of a collapse by not following its ceiling reinforcement plan. Inman Energy’s Randolph mine received 25 citations, 21 of which were the most serious “S&S” citations indicating an immediate danger to the mining crew. The impact inspections grew out of an increased enforcement push by MSHA after the explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine. Impact inspections target mines that have a history of violations.

Read article at http://blogs.wvgazette.com/coaltattoo/2011/05/31/msha-announces-results-of-latest-inspection-sweeps/ and http://www.wfpl.org/2011/06/01/two-kentucky-mines-cited-in-msha-inspections/. Read MSHA press release at http://www.msha.gov/MEDIA/PRESS/2011/NR110531.asp See the list of inspected mines at http://coaldiver.org/documents/master-inspection-list-targeted-enforcement-msha-april-2011

May 31, 2011

On May 14, a 37 year old mechanic working at Apogee Coal’s Guyan Mine was crushed as he was doing maintenance on a front-end loader. He had been disassembling a counter-weight on the loader, and as he was removing the second-to-last bolt, the remaining bolts failed and the 11685 pound weight landed on him. The weight had not been blocked to prevent it from falling. The miner had 12 years of experience in mining, and had worked as a mechanic for a year and a half. An investigation by MSHA is ongoing.

Read fatalgram at http://www.msha.gov/FATALS/2011/FAB11c05.asp

May 27, 2011

Burlington Northern Santa Fe has opened a new second set of tracks for its rail line through Grand Island, Nebraska. The $90M project will remove the largest remaining piece of single-track line in BSNF’s link between the coal mines of Wyoming and the coal’s destination in Kansas City and Chicago, and will allow BSNF to compete on a more level field with arch-rival Union Pacific in the lucrative coal hauling market.

Read article at http://www.theindependent.com/articles/2011/05/27/news/local/13423234.txt