By Amanda Eggert, Montana Free Press
A federal judge in Billings has issued a preliminary order directing the federal government to redo its analysis of a 6,500-acre expansion of a southeastern Montana coal mine.
In his Feb. 11 order, Magistrate Judge Timothy Cavan said the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement violated the National Environmental Policy Act by failing to take a hard look at how expanding the Rosebud Mine, which is operated by Westmoreland Rosebud Mining, LLC, would impact water quantity and quality. Cavan also said the government should have weighed the costs of greenhouse gas emissions in its project analysis, given that it listed expected socioeconomic benefits.
