0.24 GT of our CO2 budget was saved today when the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down authorization for a coal mine expansion
The Ninth Circuit struck down the Trump-era approval by the Office of Surface Mining (OSM) to expand the Bull Mountain Underground Coal Mine, preventing it from creating 240 million tons of CO2 emissions, which would have made it the single biggest point-source of CO2 in the country.
The 175 million ton mine expansion, had it gone ahead, would have released 240 million tons of greenhouse gas pollution over 11 years. The mine also would have been the the largest underground coal mine in the US, based on production.
But, now, that coal stays underground. For now, at least. The matter has been referred back to District Court and the US Department of the Interior to redo the environmental assessment, but, this time, taking into consideration the CO2 emissions they tried to overlook the first time around. Which, if there’s any sanity in the world, means this project won’t happen at all.
