Appeal delays massive coal sale planned for central Utah

A massive coal sale in central Utah exempted under a national moratorium on any new mining on federal land was delayed Tuesday after environmental groups filed an appeal. The Sierra Club, the Center for Biological Diversity, Grand Canyon Trust and WildEarth Guardians appealed the Bureau of Land Management's decision to go ahead and offer the Green Hollow Tract in Sanpete and Sevier counties, citing concerns about sage grouse habitat. The action now prompts the Interior Board of Land Appeals to take another look, staying the sale planned for Tuesday for a review period that could take 45 days. BLM offered the tract of 6,175 acres despite a three-year moratorium announced by the Obama administration in January as part of sweeping reforms. The tract was covered under exceptions granted through the moratorium because an environmental review had already been performed...more