Colorado Coal Mine Expansion Challenged

By Joel ScanlonFeb 27 2011

The Elk Creek coal mine in western Colorado had been given permission by the Bureau of Land Management for an expansion but the Sierra Club and the Wild Earth Guardians group are challenging the decision. They have filed an appeal with the Board of Land Appeals registering their opposition.

In their appeal against the expansion of the Elk Creek coal mine they mention that the Bureau of Land Management has not adequately considered how the expanded mining and the combustion of the mined coal will affect air quality.

The report by Bureau of Land Management field manager Barbara Sharrow found that the effects of the proposed expansion at the coal mine would be short term. The mine’s operator Oxbow Mining said that the expansion, should it take place, would extend the life of the mine at current production levels by a year.

Oxbow Mining which operates the Elk Creek coal mine currently employs 350 people. If the expansion does not go through many of them would be laid off as the mine would be forced to reduce operations. They said that the appeal against the expansion seemed to be part of a larger campaign to shut down coal mining in the US.