Guardians and a group of concerned Montanans filed a legal challenge today to protect climate and water from an enormous coal mine expansion of the Rosebud strip mine.
The Rosebud strip mine provides coal to the Colstrip coal-fired power plant, one of the largest greenhouse gas polluters in the nation. The mine expansion will destroy water, harm wildlife and public lands, exacerbate the climate crisis, and damage habitat for the endangered pallid sturgeon.
The Office of Surface Mining approved a proposal to add an additional 6,748 acres to the mine so it can provide another 71 million tons of coal to the plant. This could prolong the life of the mine for 19 years, even though the plant’s owners are preparing to exit it as soon as 2025. The Trump administration shouldn’t be propping up a dying industry—it should be helping our nation transition away from fossil fuels.
Read the press release.
