A Department of Interior (DoI) Administrative Law Judge withdrew Peabody Coal Co.’s Life of Mine permit for operations on Black Mesa, Ariz., handing a major victory to tribal and environmental organizations who appealed the permit decision in January. The permit had been granted on December 22, 2008, by the DoI’s Office of Surface Mining (OSM).

According Judge Robert G. Holt, “OSM violated NEPA [National Environmental Protection Act] by not preparing a supplemental draft EIS [Environmental Impact Statement] when Peabody changed the proposed action. As a result, the Final EIS did not consider a reasonable range of alternatives to the new proposed action, described the wrong environmental baseline, and did not achieve the informed decision-making and meaningful public comment required by NEPA. Because of the defective Final EIS, OSM’s decision to issue a revised permit to Peabody must be vacated and remanded to OSM for further action.”

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