Surprise, Surprise! Blackjewel Coal Bankruptcy Will Leave Behind Decades Of Environmental Damage
Environmental advocates worry a coal company liquidation plan will leave dozens of coal permits in eastern Kentucky unreclaimed, according to filings in the bankruptcy proceedings of Blackjewel L.L.C.
The bankruptcy case has dragged on since last July, when the once-mighty coal company’s Chapter 11 filing left hundreds of Appalachian coal miners suddenly without work, and without weeks of pay. Now the company has until the end of 2020 to exit bankruptcy, and to do that, it needs the court to approve the very liquidation plan that has environmentalists concerned.
Mine land that is not reclaimed or is improperly reclaimed can leave behind highwalls of cut rock, stripped land subject to erosion and runoff, and potential water pollution. Blackjewel accrued hundreds of environmental violations in the months following its bankruptcy.
Filed September 25, the plan, if approved, would dissolve Blackjewel and would place the responsibility for reclaiming any unsold permits onto a newly formed Reclamation Trust.
Funding for the trust would come from surety bonds. The Appalachian Citizens Law Center, which is one of the entities expressing concern about the plan, estimates those surety bonds to be worth about $40 million.
EDIT
https://ohiovalleyresource.org/2020/10/15/environmental-risks-remain-as-blackjewel-bankruptcy-nears-its-end/
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