Mine Problems; Challenge to South Fork Coal

Citizens’ Ability to Get Help with Mine Problems in Jeopardy

Established in 1977, the federal Ten Day Notice rule allows individuals to ask federal regulators to investigate and intervene when a coal mine is causing an environmental problem that state regulators have failed to adequately address.

The rule was briefly weakened by the first Trump administration and then largely restored by the Biden administration. In 2024, 14 states sued the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement in an effort to gut the rule. Appalachian Voices, the publisher of this newspaper, along with our partners intervened in this case to defend the rule.

After President Donald Trump returned to office, his administration started a process to rewrite the rule yet again in order to make it harder for community members to alert authorities to a problem. The administration also asked the court to pause the ongoing litigation until the rewritten rule is final, and the court will consider that request in August.

“For decades, this rule, in more or less its current form, has helped residents of coal mining communities ensure that their corporate neighbors do not pollute the air and water,” says Appalachian Voices Coal Impacts Program Manager Willie Dodson. “The administration’s rewrite of this rule will do nothing but eliminate protections for everyday people in order to benefit those who profit from destructive, polluting, reckless coal mining practices.”

Groups Challenge South Fork Coal’s Actions in West Virginia

In West Virginia, South Fork Coal Company has been hauling coal through the Monongahela National Forest since 2022, after telling state officials that it would not do so. The company is using Forest Service roads for hauling coal and equipment, which the Forest Service authorized without doing legally required environmental assessments.

The company, which declared bankruptcy in February 2025, has been cited for more than 140 environmental violations since 2019. These violations occurred overwhelmingly in the Cherry River watershed, a habitat for the endangered candy darter fish and a vital headwater of the Gauley River, a cornerstone of the region’s tourism economy.

A federal judge allowed two legal actions to move forward against the company, allowing conservation groups to challenge coal hauling through the Monongahela National Forest. The ruling lifts a bankruptcy-related pause and revives lawsuits and appeals aiming to stop illegal mining operations.

Conservation groups are taking legal action to stop South Fork Coal Company’s environmental harm to the Cherry River and the national forest. The plaintiffs are the publisher of this newspaper, Appalachian Voices, as well as West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, Allegheny-Blue Ridge Alliance and others, represented by Appalachian Mountain Advocates and the Center for Biological Diversity.