Hopi and Navajo Residents Stop Peabody's Coal Mine Expansion on Black Mesa

From: Center for Biological Diversity
Published January 11, 2010 10:54 AM
Hopi and Navajo Residents Stop Peabody's Coal Mine Expansion on Black Mesa

BLACK MESA, Arizona, USA- Peabody Western Coal Company's Black Mesa Coal Complex has suffered a major setback as an administrative law judge for the U.S. Department of the Interior vacated a permit for the massive coal-mining complex. The judge vacated the permit in response to one of several appeals filed by Navajo and Hopi residents as well as a diverse coalition of tribal and environmental groups. The permit, issued by Interior's Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement, allowed Peabody to operate and expand the Black Mesa and Kayenta mines under a single permit.