Colstrip moves to cut ties with Rosebud Mine as Westmoreland falters

Once unthinkable, Colstrip power plant and Rosebud Mine soon could be legally separated as utilities and lawmakers conspire on a future without Westmoreland Coal Co.

In the Senate Natural Resources Committee on Friday, Sen. Duane Ankney, R-Colstrip, and two power plant shareholders revealed plans to replace Rosebud Mine coal with fuel from an unidentified source, though most likely a coal mine in Wyoming or southeast Montana.

The state Department of Environmental Quality is busy permitting a coal unloading facility so the power plant can begin unloading coal train cars. And there’s a bill to provide state loans to the power plant’s six large utility owners to pay for it.

Westmoreland Coal Co. is going through bankruptcy, meaning that Rosebud Mine could be under new ownership by spring. The company and its creditors have indicated they will not keep the mine’s supply contract with Colstrip power plant, which has Colstrip’s utility owners scrambling for different coal. Although it was suggested Friday that the bills and permitting were just a ruse to force Rosebud Mine’s future owners to negotiate.

Read more: https://missoulian.com/news/state-and-regional/colstrip-moves-to-cut-ties-with-rosebud-mine-as-westmoreland/article_cca3d7de-178a-5491-ac3c-ce27b8357548.html