Court Overturns Arch Coal's Backcountry Mining Plans
An Environmental Article from All-Creatures.org

From

Wild Earth Guardians
June 2014

[Ed. Note: Wild Earth said: "Today is a great day for our public lands and for our climate." All-Creatures.org hopes the day will come when Wild Earth Guardians will acknowledge that these victories are also FOR all of the animals who live in the West Elk Wilderness.]

The court “immediately enjoined” Arch Coal from proceeding with its mining, granting a vital reprieve for the 5,000 acre Sunset Roadless Area, which skirts the northern end of the West Elk Wilderness.

Arch Coal had planned to start bulldozing roads at the foot of Colorado’s iconic West Elk Mountains, pushing its coal mining further into the backcountry at the expense of our climate.

Thankfully, those plans have been thwarted.

Last Friday, a court agreed with us that the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Bureau of Land Management illegally approved Arch’s mining plans by failing to account for the cost of more carbon pollution that would result.

In doing so, the court “immediately enjoined” Arch Coal from proceeding with its mining, granting a vital reprieve for the 5,000 acre Sunset Roadless Area, which skirts the northern end of the West Elk Wilderness.

This is a hard-earned game changer. Not only did the court overturn the feds, but the ruling makes clear that in approving more coal mining on our public lands, the costs of carbon pollution can’t be ignored.

In 2013, Earthjustice filed suit on behalf of WildEarth Guardians, High Country Conservation Advocates, and the Sierra Club in a last ditch effort to save the Sunset Roadless Area and make a stand for the climate.

For several years now, we’ve been working tirelessly with our partners to keep Arch Coal at bay in western Colorado.

Last Friday, we won, Arch Coal lost, and the verdict is that the federal government can no longer ignore the costs of carbon pollution. In our work to safeguard our climate from coal mining throughout the American West, this is a significant precedent.

Today is a great day for our public lands and for our climate.

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