Court tosses coal lawsuit

ANCHORAGE — A federal lawsuit local advocacy groups filed against Usibelli Coal Mine has been thrown out of court.

“Given the legislative history that indicates Congress specifically drafted the citizen suit provision in (the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act) to prevent a private operator from being sued for errors that really stem from the regulating authority’s improper implementation of the law, this court finds that plaintiffs fail to state a cognizable claim,” U.S. District Court Judge John Sedwick says in his Thursday ruling.

Translated from legal-speak, what Sedwick said is that the advocacy groups were suing the wrong entity. Nobody disputes that Usibelli has a permit to mine coal. What is at dispute is whether that permit is valid. Thus, Sedwick wrote, the advocates’ beef is with the state agency that issued the permit — the Department of Natural Resources — not Usibelli.

The advocacy groups named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit are Friends of Mat-Su, usually more of a municipal planning advocacy group; Castle Mountain Coalition, most known for its efforts with regard to the proposed coal mine; Alaska Community Action on Toxics, a group probably best known for lawsuits filed over pesticide use by Alaska Railroad; Cook Inletkeeper, a clean water advocacy group; and the Alaska Chapter of the national environmental group the Sierra Club.

Friday, those groups put out a statement.

“Constant blasting, coal dust and the trucking of coal through our community threaten the health and safety of thousands of families living near the mine and the transportation route throughout the Mat-Su Valley,” Friends of Mat-Su Conservation Director Tim Leach says in the release. “Usibelli has found a procedural way to avoid having a court decide whether its permits are valid and whether its operations have been conducted illegally. Citizens hope that the Office of Surface Mining will hold Usibelli accountable to the public and the surrounding community.”

That last sentence was a reference to the ongoing process to sort out a complaint many of the same groups filed with the federal Office of Surface Mining asking for a review of the validity of Usibelli’s permit.

In July, the Office of Surface Mining seemed close to deciding against Usibelli and the state. The state, in response, handed over to OSM numerous documents in early August supporting its view that the permits are valid.

Contact reporter Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.