Agreement Reached Securing Clean Air Act Compliance for Arch Coal’s West Elk Coal Mine, Colorado
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A federal judge approved a consent agreement today that requires Mountain Coal Co., a subsidiary of Arch Coal, to operate pollution-control equipment and obtain and comply with a Clean Air Act permit for its West Elk coal mine.
In 2020 four environmental groups sued Mountain Coal, saying the mine was operating without required Clean Air Act permits and illegally emitting air pollution.
The consent decree, approved by U.S. District Judge Raymond P. Moore, will not expire until Mountain Coal complies with the terms of its operating permit for two years. The agreement also requires the company to control its methane and volatile organic compound pollution using flares.
“Today’s agreement is a critical step forward in holding Arch Coal accountable to protecting clean air and to limiting harmful methane emissions. While we ultimately need to transition completely away from coal to protect our climate, we have certainty in the meantime that the West Elk mine will be reducing harmful methane and other toxic gases,” said Jeremy Nichols, climate and energy program director for WildEarth Guardians.
The West Elk mine, located in Gunnison County east of Paonia in western Colorado, vents massive amounts of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, from dozens of wells drilled above the mine.
“With Colorado and the West becoming hotter and drier due to climate change pollution from sources such as the West Elk coal mine, this agreement is a significant step in the right direction, one that will directly benefit local public lands, waters and people,” said Matt Reed, public lands director at High Country Conservation Advocates.
Under today’s agreement, Arch Coal will use flares to burn mine gases, which in turn will reduce methane and VOCs.
“This agreement means tangible benefits for Colorado’s air quality, the public’s health and the climate. It’s good that Arch Coal must take commonsense steps to reduce the mine’s pollution,” said Allison Melton, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity.
Federal law requires polluters to obtain a permit and comply with pollution-control requirements before releasing these dangerous compounds. Mountain Coal only applied for this permit after conservation groups filed suit, and the permit has yet to be issued.
The conservation groups filed suit in 2020 under the Clean Air Act, which allows citizens to sue to enforce the law where states and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency fail to do so.
The plaintiffs are WildEarth Guardians, High Country Conservation Advocates, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Sierra Club. The groups are represented by David A. Nicholas of Newton, Mass., Caitlin Miller of Earthjustice, and Samantha Ruscavage-Barz and Daniel Timmons of WildEarth Guardians.
About Arch Resources
Arch Resources is a premier producer of high-quality metallurgical products for the global steel industry. The company operates large, modern and highly efficient mines that consistently set the industry standard for both mine safety and environmental stewardship.
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