A federal judge has ruled that the state of Kentucky "improperly issued a surface-mining
permit to a coal company that did not get permission to mine from some
owners," Bill Estep reports for the Lexington Herald-Leader. The decision could impact the future of coal mining, especially in Central Appalachia where out-migration has created a lot of absentee partial landowners.
Since the 1980s, state and federal regulators have operated under the opinion that any surface owner—regardless of the size of the share of land they own—can grant permission for coal companies to operate on the land, Estep writes. But District Judge Amul R. Thapar ruled Friday that "The federal surface mining law says a coal company has to get consent to mine from all surface owners."
The case stems from an incident in which five Kentucky landowners, who own 62.5 percent of a property, sued after Pike-Letcher Land Co., which owns 25 percent of that land, agreed to let Premier Elkhorn Coal Co. mine the surface without gaining permission from the other owners, Estep writes. When Premier Elkhorn applied for its permit, it didn't list any joint owners for the 180 acres of land.
"Attorneys for the federal agency and coal company had argued in court documents that the state properly issued the permit," Estep writes. But Lexington attorney Joe F. Childers, who represented the five landowners, "said coal companies had used the state's position on issuing permits without the consent of all surface owners as a way to get around the broad-form deed amendment." He told Estep, "This is an order that upsets 32 years of erroneous interpretation of the federal surface mining act. It's a very significant opinion." (Read more)
Since the 1980s, state and federal regulators have operated under the opinion that any surface owner—regardless of the size of the share of land they own—can grant permission for coal companies to operate on the land, Estep writes. But District Judge Amul R. Thapar ruled Friday that "The federal surface mining law says a coal company has to get consent to mine from all surface owners."
The case stems from an incident in which five Kentucky landowners, who own 62.5 percent of a property, sued after Pike-Letcher Land Co., which owns 25 percent of that land, agreed to let Premier Elkhorn Coal Co. mine the surface without gaining permission from the other owners, Estep writes. When Premier Elkhorn applied for its permit, it didn't list any joint owners for the 180 acres of land.
"Attorneys for the federal agency and coal company had argued in court documents that the state properly issued the permit," Estep writes. But Lexington attorney Joe F. Childers, who represented the five landowners, "said coal companies had used the state's position on issuing permits without the consent of all surface owners as a way to get around the broad-form deed amendment." He told Estep, "This is an order that upsets 32 years of erroneous interpretation of the federal surface mining act. It's a very significant opinion." (Read more)
No comments:
Post a Comment