Court rules for development of Lila Canyon mine

DENVER — The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that two federal agencies rightfully allowed UtahAmerican Energy to continue its development of the Lila Canyon Mine near Wellington, Utah.

A suit brought by the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance contended the Bureau of Land Management improperly extended the time frame for the development of six leases that would tap the coal reserves of the Book Cliffs.

The decision also rejected an argument by the environmental group that the Interior department should have required an updated mining plan because so much time had passed since the company first sought permits for drilling.

UtahAmerican first purchased the mining rights from the Intermountain Power Agency in 1999 and received mining approval in 2001 from the Interior department.

That same year, state regulators approved the company's application for a surface mining permit, which was appealed by SUWA.

Because federal coal leases are subject to a 10-year development period — which actually began in 1995 — production of coal was supposed to have started by 2005.

The company sought a federal extension of the deadline, according to the court ruling, in part due to delays caused by SUWA's appeals of the coal mine's development.

SUWA also said a new mining plan should have been required, but the Interior Department rejected that notion, saying a new plan would be required only if the previous one had been substantially modified.

The decision upholds a lower court ruling.

This story was reported from Salt Lake City.

e-mail: amyjoi@desnews.com