Environmental groups plan to sue Peabody Energy for failing to notify the federal government that the Kayenta coal mine may close before the end of its operating permit.
Utilities plan to shut down the Navajo Generating Station in December because they say the power plant is no longer able to compete with facilities fueled by natural gas. The mine, owned by Peabody Energy, feeds the plant.
The Sierra Club and two Navajo groups say they’re concerned Peabody is trying to avoid its legal obligations to prepare for reclamation of the 44,000 acre mine.
Peabody’s permit application says there was no proposal for “any revisions to the approved mining and reclamation plan” through the permit term ending in July of 2020. The Office of Surface Mining approved the permit.
The tribe is still looking at a possible purchase of the Navajo Generating Station in an effort to save both the plant and the mine, along with the jobs and revenue they provide.