Climate Impacts of Colorado Coal Mine Called Out

WildEarth Guardians Urges Assessment of Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Carbon Costs

Denver – WildEarth Guardians yesterday called on the U.S. Department of the Interior to confront the climate impacts of authorizing coal mining in northwestern Colorado.

“We deserve an honest accounting of the climate implications of more coal mining,” said Jeremy Nichols, Climate and Energy Program Director for WildEarth Guardians.  “More coal means more carbon, that’s a consequence the Interior Department needs to seriously weigh before committing our nation to more mining.”

In comments submitted to Interior’s Office of Surface Mining, WildEarth Guardians called for a full disclosure of the greenhouse gases and carbon costs that would result from approving more mining at the Colowyo mine in northwestern Colorado.  The strip mine fuels the Craig Station, one of the state’s largest coal-fired power plants and largest single source of carbon emissions.

In May, a federal court held that Interior illegally ignored the environmental consequences of approving more mining at Colowyo.  The court held the agency inappropriately turned its back on the impacts of coal burning and set a 120-day deadline for the Department to correct its mistakes and make a new decision.

Shortly after, the Interior Department announced its intent to prepare a new environmental analysis and invited public comments to guide its review.

In its letter to the agency, Guardians called for a thorough review of the air pollution, water quality, and fish and wildlife impacts of coal mining and burning, and also called on the agency to consider alternatives to limit the impacts of future mining, including rejecting more mining altogether.

“Our nation can’t possibly combat climate change and curtail carbon if Interior is going to simply rubberstamp more coal mining,” said Nichols.  “It’s time to stop giving coal a free pass and start confronting the impacts of dirty energy.”

The Colowyo mine produced 2.4 million tons of coal in 2014.  When burned, this coal released an estimated 4.8 million metric tons of carbon dioxide.  Based on federal estimates, the cost of carbon emissions ranges from $11 to more than $109 per metric ton.  This puts the climate price tag of Colowyo’s carbon emissions as high as $523 million.


 

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