Brett Maciech
bmaciech@uwyo.edu
Peabody Energy, the world’s largest private-sector coal company, may be in violation of mining regulations in Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico.
The accusation comes from WildEarth Guardians and they alleged that Peabody is mining without utilizing proper reclamation bonding, which is the process of restoring mined land to a reusable state.
In a statement given out by Peabody’s Manager of Corporate Communications Kelley Wright said they have an excellent record of land restoration, which they view as part of their social license and obligation to operate in the first place and have spent tens of millions restoring lands that others have mined.
“All of our mines were reaffirmed for self-bonding eligibility last year in all states where we have self-bonding. This includes affirmation by the state of Wyoming for our North Antelope Rochelle and Rawhide mines as recently as December of 2015,” Wright said.
Wright went on to say that they pursue self-bonding in states where the practice allows companies to meet qualitative and quantitative financial measures.
“The company fully accounts for the ongoing cost of land restoration,” Wright said, “as well as the present value of liabilities associated with final land restoration within our financial statements.”
Wright claims they use the best practices to reclaim mined lands, including contemporaneous restoration, where lands are returned for productive use as quickly as possible.
“Each year we restore thousands of acres into hardy and productive rangeland, wildlife habitat, hardwood forests and wetlands,” Wright said. “We monitor progress to satisfy our own high standards and those of the states and federal government before lands are ultimately released for generations that follow.”
On environmental issues altogether, states could have more time to deal with their individual power issues as the Supreme Court put Obama’s Clean Power Plan on hold. In an article by Wyoming Public Media, Laura Farris, the climate change coordinator for EA Region 8, said that the deadlines to comply with this Plan could be pushed by a few years.
“Well, I can’t really say if or how they might change but we want to give states the times that they need to develop state plans that make sense for them,” Farris said.
