"Group Questions Peabody Energy's Coal Mine Self-Bonding"

"CHEYENNE, Wyo. — An environmental group is formally questioning Peabody Energy's ability to fully bond its coal mines in Wyoming and elsewhere in the Rocky Mountain region, saying the St. Louis-based company has insufficient funding to qualify for self-bonding.

Bonding helps ensure funding is in place to fill in mines that close and restore them to a natural state. Self-bonding exempts companies from posting conventional bond in exchange for showing they have sufficient resources to pay for all potential mine reclamation.

St. Louis-based Peabody has almost $900 million in self-bonding obligations in Wyoming. They cover three big open-pit mines in the Powder River Basin, a region that supplies almost 40 percent of the nation's coal."

Mead Gruver reports for the Associated Press February 11, 2016.