Advocates Sue Forest Service, Interior Over Arch Coal Mine Expansion

Expansion of operations at an Arch Coal mine in western Colorado will clearcut trees, destroy and fragment habitat, displace wildlife, change hydrology, and transform a natural forest into an industrialized area, environmental advocates said in a lawsuit.

Five environmental groups sued the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado Dec. 15 over the agencies’ approval of two coal lease modifications totaling 1,721acres in the Sunset Roadless Area. The BLM issued its record of decision for the modifications to the West Elk coal mine earlier in the ...