Our coalition shut down the illegal haul road and the shady coal company that was dependent on it!

On September 16, the U.S. Forest Service terminated South Fork Coal Company’s road‑use permit through the Monongahela National Forest. That authorization was the company’s only access to the 1,100‑acre Rocky Run Surface Mine. Without it, coal and equipment can’t move through the forest. Because OSMRE’s July 18 Valid Existing Rights finding rested on the existence of that permit, it also no longer stands. South Fork is in the Chapter 7 liquidation process, its mines are idled and equipment abandoned. Our partners asked the court to dismiss the haul‑road case against the Forest Service as moot because the relief sought—the end of hauling through the Mon—has been achieved.

South Fork Coal’s Rocky Run Surface Mine

How we got here. ABRA first found the problem(s) back in late 2022, we built the record, and kept the pressure on through two presidential administrations. We pulled the permit information, filed countless FOIA requests, mapped the haul road and associated mining facilities, documented the truck traffic and hundreds of violations, and we kept showing up—at informal conferences, before state and federal regulators, and in federal court. We kept flying in small planes, photographing, writing, and submitting the evidence until the agencies had to act. This was steady, unglamorous work over many months. It worked. The Forest Service terminated the permit. Many thanks to every single person who had a role in getting to this point.

What’s next. The shameful damage on the ground remains. In August and early September, WVDEP issued seven violations and two cessation orders at Rocky Run, plus additional violations at other South Fork sites. Before the RUP termination, the state  also cited and then closed Haulroad #2 after

severe erosion. Acid mine drainage and sediment from roughly 3,600 disturbed acres are still reaching headwater streams. We will press for full enforcement and timely, bonded reclamation—stabilizing slopes, fixing drainage, treating polluted water, and finishing revegetation. Any buyer inherits the cleanup and must comply.

Haul Road #2

With coal trucks off Forest Service roads, we can pivot to recovery: replant native forest, including red spruce; restore riparian buffers; reconnect floodplains where it makes sense; and reopen safe public access. That is real work and real jobs, and it supports the outdoor economy built on clean water and healthy forests.

The damage caused by this mine and the egregious lack of enforcement by regulators was the inspiration behind our Information Transparency Campaign. The mine’s shutdown and company’s liquidation shows that our strategy works.

We will keep publishing permit histories and maps, tracking enforcement, and keeping communities informed. There is no going back to hauling through the Mon. The path forward is compliance, reclamation, and a watershed on the mend

Victory For the Mon: Forest Service terminates South Fork Coal Co’s haul-road permit.
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