After two years of "supplemental" study, the U.S. Forest Service has issued a new environmental review of a proposed coal lease that could keep Utah’s oldest and most productive mine operating for an additional nine years.
The Sufco Mine has been pulling high-quality coal from under the southern Wasatch Plateau since 1941 and has been a crucial economic driver for Sevier and Emery counties. The mine operates on the Sevier side of the county line, about 30 miles southeast of Salina.
This proposed federal coal lease would make about 56 million tons available for extraction to the northwest of the Sufco Mine in Sevier County. The Greens Hollow lease is needed to feed the mine’s future operations, which could otherwise run out of coal to mine as early as next year, according to the 415-page draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). Salt Lake Tribune
