Judge: Coal mine permit didn’t analyze environmental harm
By AMY BETH HANSON
Associated Press
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — A federal judge has ruled the U.S. Office of Surface Mining failed to adequately analyze the environmental harm that could be caused by increasing the size of a southeastern Montana coal mine that feeds a nearby power plant before approving a permit. U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy Cavan recommended that the agency correct its analysis or face the revocation of the permit. U.S. District Judge Susan Watters will decide whether to implement Cavan’s recommendation. Environmental groups sued over an expansion of the Rosebud mine saying the agency listed the monetary benefits of the expansion, but offered only general explanations of the potential environmental damage of more mining, and not the effects of burning the coal.
