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April 12, 2024 - Montana’s only underground coal mine could shut down by the end of 2025 if it can't expand onto federal land. That’s what Signal Peak Energy President and CEO Parker Phipps told Yellowstone County Commissioners on Thursday.
The Bull Mountain mine south of Roundup now employs about 260 workers. About two thirds of them live in Yellowstone County.
Phipps said the mine is facing potential closure after a federal judge blocked Signal Peak from beginning a 175-million-ton expansion into coal on federal land. U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy halted it in February 2023 until the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement studies the environmental impacts of the mine, located 40 miles north of Billings.
Federal regulators will not only have to complete an Environmental Impact Study of the expansion, but also estimate the impact of greenhouse emissions.
“The mine is in jeopardy,” Phipps said.
Signal Peak has filed a lawsuit seeking a timely review from OSMRE. Phipps said a pause in production is not an option. With 99% of the coal shipped to Asia, he said, a delay could cause Signal Peak to lose customers as well as competitive rail and port spots.
The mine has paid more than $211 million in taxes to Montana and Yellowstone and Musselshell counties in the past three years, according to a summary that executives provided to the commissioners. They estimate it will add $59.9 million to state and local coffers in 2024 and 2025.
The mine also pays about $45 million annually in wages, taxes and benefits for workers, said Signal Peak’s Vice President and Controller Cliff Pinkerton.
But, without the federal permit, he said, the company does not expect to mine the remaining coal on state trust land, which benefits Montana schools.
About $47 million of tax revenues generated by the mine went into Montana’s public education system in the past three years. If regulators don’t allow Signal Peak to mine federal coal, the state can expect zeros in 2024 and 2025, Phipps said.
“It’s difficult for me to believe that the Office of Surface Mining can’t get their work done in a timely fashion and with this administration, it appears to be almost intentional,” Commissioner John Ostlund said. “You need to sue them and if we can help you with that, I’d be an advocate. They need to follow the same rules and the same playing field as we do.”
Phipps said Signal Peak will continue fighting to keep the mine operational.
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