Court requires Feds to consider climate impacts from mining

Time for an honest conversation

The stage has been set for a new kind of conversation when it comes to coal mining and climate change. Last month, the deadline to appeal a U.S. District Court decision calling for the consideration of climate change impacts from Colorado coal mining came and went without appeal. And now, proposed coal mining operations in Colorado must consider the impact of coal mining on climate change.

The decision came in response to a lawsuit filed by three environmental groups, including High Country Conservation Advocates (HCCA). The lawsuit called into question the proposed expansion of Arch Coal’s West Elk Mine operations and portions of the Colorado Roadless rule, which allowed for mining in a 1,700-acre area of the Sunset Trail Roadless Area adjacent to the West Elks Wilderness.
According to Alli Melton, HCCA’s public lands director, the ruling has three major impacts that all hit close to home. First, it determined that the Forest Service and other agencies failed to address the cost of releasing carbon into the atmosphere when it allowed for mining in the Sunset Trail Roadless Area as part of the Colorado Roadless Rule. Second, the agency also failed to consider the cost of carbon when it modified Arch Coal’s lease to allow for mining in that same area.
And third, an exploration plan for the area failed to consider the role of recreation in the area.
Melton said one of the major sticking points for the judge seemed to be the failure to analyze the cost of releasing carbon into the environment. “The [Forest Service] came in and did a specific economic analysis on the benefits for the Colorado economy, but didn’t look at the cost of putting more carbon into the environment as result of extracting coal, transporting it and then burning it,” Melton said. She added that the judge’s ruling suggested that an economic analysis needed to include benefits and costs. “If you don’t look at the costs, you can’t make informed decisions about what the benefits really are.”
Since no one appealed the ruling, it stands as law. And that leaves the Forest Service to determine what it means for both the Colorado Roadless Rule and the lease modification for Arch Coal. Jason Robertson, Forest Service deputy director for recreation lands and minerals in the Rocky Mountain Region, says the agency is still working on figuring that out.
“We’re trying to be deliberate and trying to figure out the fastest and most efficient and most thoughtful way of going forward,” Robertson said. He expects to have clear next steps by mid-January, but at the moment, the implications for the Colorado Roadless Rule seem to be the most time-consuming. Because it is an official rule, a specific modification process must be followed, including mandatory internal and public comment periods. And changes in the coal industry mean the lease modification process may not be easy to determine either.
“We aren’t entirely sure where the industry is going right now,” Robertson said. He believes changes in the industry and demand for coal may impact what local coal companies are looking for. “It’s an interesting time to be working on this, and we know that everybody is very sensitive to the fact that people’s livelihoods and careers are at stake here.”
But Melton says it’s important to note that this recent ruling doesn’t change what’s happening at the West Elk Mine right now. “They’re not cutting back on production and no one is losing a job,” she said. “And even if they expanded to cover this area, at most it would expand the life of the mine by two years. So in terms of longevity, reserves would run out relatively soon either way.”
The key now, as Melton sees it, is to get honest about the ticking clock and have a real conversation about how to provide energy and local jobs, and how to help the county’s bottom line. She said, “We’re now in a good position to start planning so there won’t be an abrupt end when they run out of coal. And that’s what I hope this decision helps—having an open and honest conversation about what are the impacts of this carbon released into the atmosphere and what does that do.”