Conservation Groups File Appeal to Overturn Flawed Rosebud Coal Mine Water Pollution Permit

Conservation Groups File Appeal to Overturn Flawed Rosebud Coal Mine Water Pollution Permit

Groups claim DEQ is treating the surrounding region as a sacrifice zone

Contacts

Perry Wheeler, Earthjustice, [email protected]

Rebecca Sobel, WildEarth Guardians, [email protected]

Anne Hedges, MEIC, [email protected]

Conservation groups and ranchers today appealed a District Court ruling that upheld a flawed water pollution permit for the Rosebud coal mine's AM5 expansion. The groups argue that the Department of Environmental Quality has failed to impose any numeric limits on toxic and harmful pollution, even though all surface waters impacted by the massive strip-mine are impaired and not meeting water quality standards. The groups maintain that DEQ illegally issued the permit by changing the classification of a stream to avoid limiting pollution discharges from the mine.

"The water contamination that will result from this mine threatens the agricultural water quality of Rosebud Creek, which really concerns me," said Clint McRae of Rocker Six cattle company, which has operated along Rosebud Creek for over a century. "Clean and abundant surface and groundwater is the most valuable resource we have in the ranching business, and is essential to our operation. The DEQ needs to step up to their public trust responsibilities, and do a better job protecting water quality impacted by a coal mine in the Rosebud watershed."

A District Court judge upheld the permit for Rosebud's expansion in early September. Earthjustice originally filed suit over the permit in 2023 on behalf of Rocker Six Cattle Company, Montana Environment Information Center, Sierra Club, and WildEarth Guardians.

"For decades, DEQ has turned a blind eye to ongoing water quality violations at the Rosebud mine. This district court decision must be appealed in order to protect the sensitive water resources from further degradation," stated Anne Hedges, Executive Director of the Montana Environmental Information Center. "Clean water is essential in Montana for agriculture, wildlife, and the economy. The law prohibits DEQ from bending the rules for large corporate polluters. Yet DEQ continues to allow this sprawling coal mine to destroy scarce water resources in this area and to pollute the water on which wildlife and people living downstream depend."

Through their lawsuit, conservation groups and ranchers argue that DEQ flouted the Clean Water Act and the Montana Supreme Court by failing to impose numeric pollution limits on the AM5 expansion of the Rosebud coal strip mine. EPA warned DEQ in 2020 that its practice of deeming waters ephemeral and then removing water quality protections - without going through the proper procedural safeguards - violates the Clean Water Act. The Montana Supreme Court further warned DEQ that it may not do so without considering impacts to downstream waters. Conservation groups notified DEQ of these limitations, but the agency ignored them.

The AM5 expansion of the Rosebud mine extended strip-mining operations to the south and into the Lee Coulee drainage. The permit established 18 pollution outfalls into Lee Coulee, Lee Coulee tributaries, and tributaries of Richard Coulee, all of which are tributaries to Rosebud Creek and the Yellowstone River. The permit added over 9,000 acres to the mine, of which 2,539 would be strip-mined to produce 62.3 million tons of coal.

"By reclassifying streams to avoid Clean Water Act protections, DEQ is setting a dangerous precedent," said Rebecca Sobel, director of WildEarth Guardians' Climate and Health Program. "Our appeal seeks to ensure that Montana's environmental laws are applied equally to all-without special loopholes for powerful corporations. Water quality protections exist for a reason, and we intend to see them upheld."

"We will continue to defend the waterways and communities impacted by the Rosebud strip mine," said Shiloh Hernandez, senior attorney with Earthjustice's Northern Rockies Office. "The Clean Water Act requires environmental regulators to limit toxic and harmful pollution from mining operations. The DEQ again used an unlawful loopful to exempt one of largest polluters in the state from meaningful pollution limits. We remain confident the agency will be held accountable through this appeal."

In early August, the Department of the Interior approved a separate expansion of the Rosebud mine, despite a 2022 District Court ruling that the Office of Surface Mining failed to consider the impacts from this massive expansion on water resources, the Yellowstone River, and the climate.

Additional Resources

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