South Fork Coal Company can no longer haul coal through the Monongahela National Forest.
The U.S. Forest Service terminated the company’s permit after it filed for bankruptcy and failed to submit an operating plan. South Fork had used Forest Service roads in order to access and operate the more than 1,000-acre Rocky Run Surface Mine, located just outside the national forest boundary.
Olivia Miller, program director for the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, said a lawsuit from conservation groups attempting to stop the coal hauling is no longer needed after the agency’s decision.
“They had already stopped operations earlier this year,” Miller pointed out. “This is a major step forward for protecting endangered species and restoring one of the state’s most beautiful watersheds.”
A separate lawsuit against South Fork Coal over water quality violations and reclamation requirements remain paused. The Forest Service granted South Fork Coal a road use permit in 2021. Since then, the company has racked up more than 100 violations issued from the state’s Department of Environmental Protections.
Miller noted the focus has now shifted to healing the landscape damage caused by transporting oversize coal loads and mining equipment, including explosives on small gravel roads in the area.
“One of the reasons we’ve been so focused on this area and these mines in particular, is because the South Fork Cherry River has incredible potential to recover,” Miller contended. “It could one day be a world-class trout fishery.”
The South Fork Cherry River is home to the en
