Agreement reached to keep Spring Creek open

SHERIDAN — The Montana Department of Environmental Quality and the Navajo Transitional Energy company announced they reached a short-term agreement late Friday that will allow coal production at the Spring Creek Mine to resume.

The interim agreement will keep the mine operating for 75 days while the two parties continue negotiating a long-term agreement, according to Montana DEQ Public Policy Director Rebecca Harbage; it can last beyond 75 days if both parties agree to an extension, she added.

While some of the issues that led to the closure will still need to be sorted out, the mine’s reopeni...