Agreement Keeps Montana Coal Mine Open

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A central Montana coal mine that cut about 20 percent of its workforce last month has reached an agreement with environmentalists and state regulators that's intended to avoid a major shutdown.

Monday's deal comes as a declining coal market leaves the future of some mining companies in doubt.

A state review panel recently rejected an expansion permit granted in 2013 for the Bull Mountain Mine. That threatened to halt operations.

The agreement gives the Department of Environmental Quality six months to reanalyze the expansion and whether it would harm area water supplies.

The agency had been faulted for limiting its analysis to 50 years and not looking at potential water contamination beyond that period.

Montana's Board of Environmental Review must approve the deal and will consider it Tuesday.