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Released October 12, 2016 | SUGAR LAND
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Written by John Egan for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Coal Country got a bit of good news last week after the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) (Washington, D.C.) approved a proposed 117 million-ton expansion of Montana's Spring Creek Mine, the state's largest coal mine. The DOI's analysis, ordered by a federal judge, concluded that coal mined from the expansion would have a minimal impact on U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.
Cloud Peak Energy Incorporated (NYSE:CLD) (Gillette, Wyoming) received approval to expand the Spring Creek Mine in 2012, but that decision was contested by environmental organizations, including WildEarth Guardians (Santa Fe, New Mexico). Earlier this year, a federal judge ordered a more rigorous environmental assessment of the proposed expansion. The DOI's assessment, released last Thursday and first reported by the Associated Press, said coal mined from the expansion would produce about 160 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) over the next five years. By 2020, those emissions would amount to less than 1% of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.
Cloud Peak Energy was allowed to expand the mine while its expansion application was under review by DOI. The expansion adds about 2,042 acres and will keep the mine operating until 2022 at least, according to court documents cited by AP. Mining on those parcels already has begun.
The mine, located about 35 miles north of Sheridan, Wyoming, produced about 17 million tons of low-sulfur coal in 2015, the company said. The DOI said even if it rejected the expansion, utilities would be able to obtain coal from other sources, perhaps from mines located on private land not subject to DOI oversight. In essence, DOI reached the same conclusion that the State Department did on the Keystone XL Pipeline: the market would find a way around an administrative veto.
In a statement emailed to Industrial Info, Rick Curtsinger, a spokesperson for Cloud Peak Energy, said the company was pleased with the agency's decision. "We are pleased that the (DOI's) Office of Surface Mining has completed its thorough environmental review and re-approved the Spring Creek mining plan modification. We can now look forward to the final resolution of this anti-fossil fuel activist litigation that is part of their broader campaign to stop U.S. coal mining."
"Spring Creek Mine safely and responsibly continues to meet an important part of America's energy needs, while employing hundreds of people and contributing millions in tax and royalty revenue to the federal, state and local governments and supporting our local communities," the statement continued. "Spring Creek Mine has a long record of strong environmental stewardship, having been recognized by the Office of Surface Mining with their top honor for successful innovation in reclamation."
Cloud Peak Energy has another public coal lease application pending for Spring Creek, for 198 million tons, before the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, AP reported. It's among more than two dozen lease applications federal officials are reviewing. Earlier this year, the Obama administration said it was pausing coal-leasing decisions until a detailed federal review of the leasing process was completed.
"Finally some common sense for the coal industry," said Joseph Govreau, Industrial Info's vice president of research for the Metals & Minerals industry. "At a time when mines are closing across the country, the DOI's decision on the Spring Creek Mine will keep that mine open. Low-sulfur coal from the Powder River Basin in Montana and Wyoming has helped many utilities reduce sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions and comply with environmental regulations."
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com.
Cloud Peak Energy Incorporated (NYSE:CLD) (Gillette, Wyoming) received approval to expand the Spring Creek Mine in 2012, but that decision was contested by environmental organizations, including WildEarth Guardians (Santa Fe, New Mexico). Earlier this year, a federal judge ordered a more rigorous environmental assessment of the proposed expansion. The DOI's assessment, released last Thursday and first reported by the Associated Press, said coal mined from the expansion would produce about 160 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) over the next five years. By 2020, those emissions would amount to less than 1% of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.
Cloud Peak Energy was allowed to expand the mine while its expansion application was under review by DOI. The expansion adds about 2,042 acres and will keep the mine operating until 2022 at least, according to court documents cited by AP. Mining on those parcels already has begun.
The mine, located about 35 miles north of Sheridan, Wyoming, produced about 17 million tons of low-sulfur coal in 2015, the company said. The DOI said even if it rejected the expansion, utilities would be able to obtain coal from other sources, perhaps from mines located on private land not subject to DOI oversight. In essence, DOI reached the same conclusion that the State Department did on the Keystone XL Pipeline: the market would find a way around an administrative veto.
In a statement emailed to Industrial Info, Rick Curtsinger, a spokesperson for Cloud Peak Energy, said the company was pleased with the agency's decision. "We are pleased that the (DOI's) Office of Surface Mining has completed its thorough environmental review and re-approved the Spring Creek mining plan modification. We can now look forward to the final resolution of this anti-fossil fuel activist litigation that is part of their broader campaign to stop U.S. coal mining."
"Spring Creek Mine safely and responsibly continues to meet an important part of America's energy needs, while employing hundreds of people and contributing millions in tax and royalty revenue to the federal, state and local governments and supporting our local communities," the statement continued. "Spring Creek Mine has a long record of strong environmental stewardship, having been recognized by the Office of Surface Mining with their top honor for successful innovation in reclamation."
Cloud Peak Energy has another public coal lease application pending for Spring Creek, for 198 million tons, before the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, AP reported. It's among more than two dozen lease applications federal officials are reviewing. Earlier this year, the Obama administration said it was pausing coal-leasing decisions until a detailed federal review of the leasing process was completed.
"Finally some common sense for the coal industry," said Joseph Govreau, Industrial Info's vice president of research for the Metals & Minerals industry. "At a time when mines are closing across the country, the DOI's decision on the Spring Creek Mine will keep that mine open. Low-sulfur coal from the Powder River Basin in Montana and Wyoming has helped many utilities reduce sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions and comply with environmental regulations."
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com.
