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A coalition of conservation and environmental organizations is alleging that a coal mine in Montana has failed to reclaim the land it has mined, creating unsafe conditions for nearby landowners, livestock, and agricultural producers.
The mine is Bull Mountains Mine, an underground coal mine operated by Signal Peak Energy that produces about 7 to 8 million tons of coal per year. The coalition is now seeking the federal government's intervention, arguing that the mine has created subsidence cracks—cracks that cause gradual sinking of an area—in the earth, some of them several feet across, dozens of feet deep and hundreds of meters long.
According to the petition, “If immediate action is not taken, Signal Peak’s continued blatant violations of its legal obligations to reclaim land impacted by its mining activities will force ranchers and wildlife alike to desert the Bull Mountains.”
Unfortunately, the reluctance of Signal Peak Energy to remediate its environmental damages is not uncommon in the extraction industry. A recent Center for Western Priorities report highlights the frequency with which bad actors like Signal Peak leave toxic messes and hazardous conditions across the West. While there are several environmental protection laws now in place that require mining companies to reclaim used lands, the foundational legal and regulatory frameworks that govern extractive industries remain severely outdated. In numerous instances, companies have chosen to violate the law and risk having to pay a penalty rather than comply with the law.
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That’s always been the Holy Grail for me: Bring back something beautiful and emotional that answers the question of why we climb, which has always been hard to explain. You need to create an emotion.”
