A bankruptcy sale hearing will take place Friday in Delaware for a company that operates a coal mine in Greenbrier County.
South Fork Coal filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February. In a hearing Friday, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware, will consider the sale of the operation.
The West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, Appalachian Voices and the Allegheny-Blue Ridge Alliance object to the sale.
The groups have been trying to stop South Fork from hauling coal and machinery over private and U.S. Forest Service roads through the Monongahela National Forest.
The federal Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement last week ruled that South Fork could operate its trucks through the forest. The groups say the road use permits can’t be transferred to a new owner.
The groups sued South Fork in December over dozens of violations of the Clean Water Act and the Surface Mine Reclamation and Control Act.
The company’s mining activity is near the Cherry River, which flows into Summersville Lake and is a habitat for endangered species as well as a trout fishing destination.
The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection also objected to the sale. However, the DEP reissued a water pollution permit to South Fork on July 11. The renewed permit is good for five years.
