Group Petitions Wyoming DEQ to End Self-Bonding

SHERIDAN, Wyo. (AP) — The Powder River Basin Resource Council has petitioned the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality to end self-bonding for coal companies in the state.

Resource Council Executive Director Jill Morrison says the group decided to organize the petition after the Land Quality Advisory Board voted to send a set of rules that would have limited self-bonding back for revisions. The rules were drafted by the DEQ, which is currently working on a revised draft.

The group's petition seeks elimination of self-bonding.

Critics of the self-bonding practice argue that it puts taxpayers and landowners at risk if a coal mine closes and the company isn't able to cover cleanup costs.

The DEQ's revised rules regarding self-bonding are scheduled to go back before the Land Advisory Board in July.