A tale of Colorado’s biggest and smallest coal mines

Colorado’s largest and smallest coal mines both have Elk in their names and are reached by winding, mountain roads amid smile-inducing scenery. New Elk and West Elk, the two mines, also bucked the long-term decline of coal last year. ey actually increased production.

How long will they tilt against this industry trend?

Production in Colorado since 2003 has paralleled the downhill contour of a black-diamond ski slope, sliding from 39.9 million tons to 12.3 million tons.

Tonnage will almost certainly fall further. Nearly all of this coal clawed from the mines is burned to heat water and hence generate electricity. at era is passing. A coal-burning unit at Pueblo went dark in December, and Colorado’s remaining nine units will close by the time a fth-grade student graduates from high school, maybe sooner.

Wyoming’s Powder River Basin has supplied some of these coal plants. A major operator there, Arch Coal, has changed its name to Arch Resources. It plans to leave Western coal in coming years, including its lone operation in Colorado, the West Elk Mine, located near Paonia. For now, though, it’s riding the wave of higher coal prices and investing just enough to keep going. e last “coal-powered power plant in the United States was built 10 years ago. And the average age is creeping up to 47-48 years,” said Paul Lang, the chief executive of Arch, during a 2022 call with investors. “I think we’ll see slowdown and retirements over the next two or three years. is thing is heading toward a pretty fast decline rate.”

In 2022, West Elk production rose nearly 25% to nearly 4.4 million tons. On my late-night walks, I believe I have seen some of that coal rolling down the railroad line from the Mo at Tunnel through metropolitan Denver. I doubt these coal trains will be permanent.

West Elk as of 2021 had proven reserves of almost 47 million tons, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ling. at coal has high energy, superior to that of the Powder River Basin.

Clark Williams-Derry, an energy nancial analyst with the nonpro t Energy Institute for Economics and Financial Analysis, told me he can see West Elk bumping along with the production of 2.5 to 4.5 million tons per year, depending upon market prices. Or ramping down production to 1 to 3 million tons, delaying the outlay necessary for cleanup. Or, conceivably, nding somebody else to buy the mine.

Keep in mind, the reserves are limited. It can continue for 10 to 12 years at current rates of production. Arch

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LUKE ZARZECKI Community Editor lzarzecki@coloradocommunitymedia.com has laid plans to expand the mine. e Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has been slow to process an air pollution permit application. Environmental groups have been nipping at the Polis administration’s heels. ey want a chance to kill expansion plans and avoid the disturbance of a roadless area. “We think this mine has outlived its usefulness,” says Jeremy Nichols, the climate and energy program director for the Denver o ce of WildEarth Guardians. Arch does see a future in metallurgical coal, which is used to produce steel from iron ore. e company has several such mines in West Virginia. ey deliver 10% of the company’s coal volume but 52% of its revenues. e Australian owners said they intended to reinstall the railroad

Metallurgical coal was the premise for New Elk, a mine that had mostly been closed since the 1980s. It was reopened in 2021 by Australian owners with the declared intention to supply Asian steel-makers.

It’s in a beautiful location, about 30 miles west of Trinidad, with a backdrop of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains that holds your eyes hard. Coal from the mine was originally hauled by railroad to the steel mill in Pueblo. When the Pueblo mill began using electric-arc furnaces, the coal was sold for thermal purposes. e mine closed in the 1980s and the railroad tracks were yanked.

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SEE CHRISTOPHER, P13

Letter To The Editor

Don’t kill trees to kill pests

It is heartening to know that the Westminster City Council considers trees to be important city “green infrastructure”.

My concern is that Ash trees will be sprayed with pesticides to combat the beetles. is is almost as bad as having the trees die.

My experience has been that spraying HERBICIDES around the roots of Ash trees has caused the weakening of the treesespecially Ash Trees which seem to be more sensitive to herbicides than some other trees. e tree’s “immune” system is often so a ected that it allows the trees to become weak enough to accept the beetles. Many times, having a strong tree or organism is the best defense for a disease rather than spraying or treating it after the fact.

I would encourage NO spraying of herbicides (which discourages “weeds” but also a ects other plants, such as trees) rather than spraying with dangerous pesticides which can a ect more than just Ash Borer beetles...it can a ect pets, people, pollinators, such as bees, etc as well as humans.

Karen Kalavity, Westminster SEE BEST, P13

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Others say council members are stuck on protecting property rights. However, let’s remember the Westminster city government i.e. the taxpayers OWN the undeveloped land at the New Downtown. ere are NOT landowners who would be impacted by changing the density to a lower residential use or changing the land use to something other than residential. ere would not be lawsuits brought against the city to worry about.

Quite frankly, I don’t understand the thinking and inaction by a good part of the council. I want to give them the bene t of the doubt, but there is nothing to grab ahold of. ey are elected to represent the citizens all on an at-large basis. If they doubt the public’s thinking against more apartments, they should call a time-out and do a professionally conducted opinion survey.

In the alternative, hold 10-12 listening sessions throughout the city conducted by a trained facilitator. e results will be the same. Enough apartments already would be their message!

Points to ponder e land use plan before city council will be the roadmap for the remaining development and re-development in the city for the next 27 years. Yes, it can be amended by city council, but normally the tenants of the plan remain for the duration. en nally there is the water issue. We should not overlook this limiting factor. Westminster is not ush with a lot of unallocated water resources to award for future development. In fact, sta is depending on further water conservation.

Secondly, there is only approximately 2% of developable land left in Westminster. Does the council want to use up a sizeable piece in re-adopting the current New Downtown Plan which allows an approximate additional 1,500 apartment units? I certainly hope not!

Do Westminster voters want the current plan to prevail for the future? I don’t think so.

Does the Council want to use this limited supply toward another 1,500 apartment units? I certainly hope not.

Do the citizens of Westminster want to see the limited water supply used in this manner? I seriously don’t think so.

Action reflective of citizens’ feedback is needed

As the old saying goes, “actions speak louder than words.” Action is what is needed now. City council should modify the density at the New Downtown and should reexamine how many apartments make sense adjacent to the commuter rail station. ere is already a plethora of apartments within the train station area so balancing the mix of residential development on the remaining land is important.

Bronco stadium refunds are a nice windfall for cities/counties

You may recall the publicity last fall when cities and counties within the Metropolitan Football Stadium District (MFSD) received checks from the sale the Bronco’s franchise to the Walton family et al.

In our neck of the woods, the Cities of ornton and Northglenn have decided how best to utilize the windfall funds. Westminster’s Parks, Recreation and Library Department sta is still brainstorming its possibilities. e only caveat tied to the use of the funds is that it is tied to youth activity programs.

ornton’s share of the funds is $1,251,876. eir sta took a more comprehensive view in the distribution of the funds. Not only did Parks and Recreation receive funds ($997,000), the Police Department received $150,000 and the Fire Department netted $105,000. Parks and Rec earmarked their funds for enhancing free outdoor recreation opportunities for children with various amenities and purchasing an ADA accessible van for the Adaptive and Inclusive Recreation (AIR) Program. Funds in the Police Department will go toward equipment to enhance and assist various youth outreach programming.

Fire Department funds are earmarked for equipment involving ornton Youth Community Outreach, Hook and Ladder and the Explorers. tracks, but that has been postponed. Meanwhile, the Trinidad Chronicle-News reports setbacks. One was the di culty in attracting experienced coal miners. Trinidad, if lacking Front Range prosperity, still has insu cient housing. Go gure. New Elk also shifted sales from overseas markets to domestic coal plants. Also, the day before writing this column, Allegiance Coal USA, the owner of the New Elk Mine, led for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Funding for Northglenn and Westminster e MFSD distribution of a portion of the franchise sale produced $394,396 for the City of Northglenn. Sta proposed funding be divided among four programs. A total of $30,000 is recommended for Northglenn Arts & Humanities Foundation scholarships and added value to youth arts programming. Another $30,000 would go to enhance existing events and create new events for children and teens. en $200,000 was recommended for an aquatic adventure course leveraging funding as a grant match. Finally, $134,398 would go to the construction of Odell Barry Park which is a current underfunded project.

Westminster’s portion of the “sharing amount” is approximately $1.6 million. No speci cs on how the funds will be earmarked have been released to date.

Bill Christopher is a former Westminster city manager and RTD board member. His opinions are not necessarily those of Colorado Community Media. You can contact him at bcjayhawk68@gmail.com.

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In Boulder, a new company is trying to create a chemical process for making steel that will bypass the need for metallurgical coal. Maybe this company will succeed, maybe not. As for the Pueblo steel mill, it sits amid a sea of solar panels. Electricity has enough heat to repurpose recycled steel.

Coal will be with us for decades yet, particularly in Asian countries. Here, we’re moving past the fuel that made our lives so much easier. We have cheaper fuels — and yes, they pose less risk of pollution to our atmosphere.

For a deeper dive on this story by Allen Best, see BigPivots.com

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It is with profound sadness the family of James E (Jim) Davidson announce his passing on 19 February 2023, at the age of 94. Jim was surrounded by love with his family at his bedside during his nal breath. While Jim is no longer by our side, he will forever be in our hearts.

Jim was born in Paris, Illinois to Cli ord and Zella (Knight) Davidson. He proudly served his country by enlisting in the U. S. Army, along with three of his high school buddies. He attained the rank of Sergeant, and was awarded the WW II Victory Medal, as well as the Army of Occupation Medal –Japan. Jim and his wife of 67 years, Shirley Edwards, moved to Westminster, Colorado, along with his mother, shortly after they wed. Together they raised two loving children, his daughter Cindy, married to Craig, and his son Alan, married to Nita. Jim was a Data Processor and retired from the Sunstrand Corporation, and later worked for Lange Ski Company.. He spent time with love and support with his 13 grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren and 2 great-great grandchildren.

Jim was a man of few words, but if you listened to him speak, he wouldn’t hesitate to share words of wisdom. He loved his family and was never too busy to o er a helping hand and would give the shirt o his back to anyone in need. Jim loved everything western, playing golf, taking drives in the mountains, traveling, and being with his family. He left a lasting legacy on family values, sel essness, investing in those he cared for, and how to provide for his wife and children. Jim was a lifetime member of Prairie Lodge #77, Paris, Illinois. He volunteered for two of his granddaughters during their time in Job’s Daughters.

Sgt James E Davidson will be interned at Ft Logan National Cemetery on Monday, 6 March 2023, at 10 am, at staging area A.

In lieu of owers, the family request donations be made to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. (nationalmssociety.org)