Last week, a federal bankruptcy judge approveda loanthat will help Arch Coal stay afloat while it works its way through bankruptcy.
The deal was a win for Arch Coal which is one of the largest producers operating in the Powder River Basin. The $275 million in financing will pay to keep its operations in Wyoming, and elsewhere, going while the company reorganizes. Out of that total, up to $75 million is available for future coal mine clean up. That is just a fraction of the company's total reclamation obligations in the state which come to over $400 million.
Arch filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January. The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality says it will require Arch to guarantee the full amount of its future cleanup costs when it emerges from bankruptcy.
