Deal Reached to Keep Montana’s Largest Coal Mine Open

An agreement has been reached to keep the Spring Creek Coal Mine open for now, but reclamation bonds still need to be acquired for a permanent permit.

KTVQ News in Billings reports that Montana regulators reached an agreement with The Navajo Transitional Energy Company, or NTEC, who has agreed to expand its waiver of sovereign immunity to include all obligations enforced by the state of Montana, state Department of Environmental officials said in a news release.

According to Q2 News, NTEC is an independent firm owned by the Navajo Nation, which means it could have been exempt from certain cleanup requirements because of tribal treaty law.

NTEC purchased Spring Creek and two other mines in Wyoming, Antelope and Cordero Rojo, last summer from Bankrupt Cloud Peak Energy.

The mine shut down for a day because NTEC was unable to obtain an operating permit until the two sides worked out a temporary deal, which was set to expire Friday.

The company remains a contract operator of the mine but will need to obntain a full permit from Cloud Peak, which requires a $110 million reclamation bond to cover clean-up costs should the mine close.

The Navajo Nation said they won’t back the bond, but NTEC, which operates independently from the tribe, said they are seeking new investors.

To read the full story, we have posted a link to the KTVQ website here:

https://www.ktvq.com/news/local-news/deal-reached-to-keep-open-montanas-largest-coal-mine