AP reported that state regulators have given approval for a surface coal mine on private lands in southern Utah.

Alton Coal Development LLC plans to produce 1 million tonnes a year from a 400 acre parcel a few miles south of the town of Alton in Kane County.

The Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining said that Alton Coal will get an operating permit as soon as it posts a USD 6 million reclamation bond. The division says the Coal Hollow Mine will exhaust the private reserves in 3 to 5 years, when the company hopes to mine adjacent federal lands.

Republican state Representative Mr Mike Noel said that Panguitch residents are upset that the company plans to run a lot of coal trucks through town.

(Sourced from Associated Press)