Arch Coal Mine Will Destroy Colorado Wilderness in 'Roadless' Forest

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In a devastating blow to the Colorado wilderness, the U.S. Forest Service has agreed to allow Arch Coal to expand their West Elk mine into 6.5 miles of roadless forest in Colorado.ย  This means that as soon as Arch Coal gets the โ€œok,โ€ they will begin leveling a formerly pristine part of Americaโ€™s beautifulย wilderness.

The ruling of the Forest Service came after an appeal by conservation groups, led by EarthJustice, who hoped that the agency would have the decency to prevent the dirty energy industry from destroying a vital part of theย environment.

From EarthJustice:

The appeal filed in September 2012 with the Forest Serviceโ€™s Rocky Mountain Regional Forester in Denver, sought to overturn an August decision affirming Arch Coalโ€™s West Elk mine expansion into roadless lands that provide habitat for lynx, black bear, elk and goshawk. The conservation groups argued that the mine expansion violates laws meant to protect wildlife, air quality, and forest lands, as well as the Colorado Roadlessย Rule.

โ€œSmokey Bear has turned his back on Coloradoโ€™s natural, roadless lands,โ€ said Ted Zukoski, staff attorney for Earthjustice, the public interest environmental law firm representing the groups. โ€œInstead, the Forest Service has literally paved the way for a coal mega-corporation to destroy real bear habitat. The Sunset Roadless Area is a beautiful forest of aspen and giant spruce, beaver lodges and meadows, a home for elk and hawks. This is a place the Forest Service should be protecting for all Coloradoans, not sacrificing to appease specialย interests.โ€

In February of this year, EarthJustice and the environmental groups they represent won a legal battle against the Forest Service over the expansion of the mine.ย  During this fight, the Forest Service was unable to provide an adequate explanation of what they would do to prevent the destruction of the habitats of endangered bald eagles and lynx, as well as what measures would be put in place to preventย landslides.

But thanks to a rule put in place by the Obama Administration this summer โ€“ known as the โ€œColorado Roadless Ruleโ€ โ€“ the guidelines and standards for permitting were weakened to the point that Arch Coal was easily able to secure aย victory.

Most of the area where Arch Coal will be expanding will now be bulldozed to the ground to make way for mine vents, roads, and padding.ย  Again, from EarthJustice:

Although the West Elk coal mine is underground, safe mining there requires that methane venting wells be drilled above the mine. The West Elk mine spews millions of cubic feet of methane pollution every day. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas with 21 times more heat trapping ability than carbon dioxide. Forest Service and EPA data show the amount of methane vented at West Elk could heat a city about the size of Grand Junction. But the Forest Service has refused to require the mine to capture, burn, or reduce any of the mineโ€™s methaneย pollution.

โ€œThis is a lose-lose-lose proposition,โ€ said Jeremy Nichols, Climate and Energy Coordinator for WildEarth Guardians. โ€œThe public loses their mountain backcountry, loses millions of dollars from wasted methane, and loses because of more coal pollution. The Forest Service needs to stand up to Big Coal, but now with a weaker Colorado Rule in place, this kind of destructive expansion could unfortunately happen again and again andย again.โ€

EarthJustice has not given up the fight for Coloradoโ€™s wilderness, and has indicated that they will continue to fight for the interest of both citizens of the area, as well as the environment that will be destroyed by thisย decision.

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Farron Cousins is the executive editor of The Trial Lawyer magazine, and his articles have appeared on The Huffington Post, Alternet, and The Progressive Magazine. He has worked for the Ring of Fire radio program with hosts Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Mike Papantonio, and Sam Seder since August 2004, and is currently the co-host and producer of the program. He also currently serves as the co-host of Ring of Fire on Free Speech TV, a daily program airing nightly at 8:30pm eastern. Farron received his bachelor's degree in Political Science from the University of West Florida in 2005 and became a member of American MENSA in 2009.ย  Follow him on Twitterย @farronbalanced.

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