ROUNDUP — A pro-coal rally was held on Friday in support of Signal Peak Energy and it's mine staff.
“Coal dollars pay for the fire department, it pays for the law enforcement to keep the city safe, it pays the hospital," said Sandra Jones, the mayor of Roundup.
The future of the Signal Peak's mine currently hangs upon a few factors including three bills sponsored by Sen. Steve Daines (R), but chiefly an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and potential land swap.
“If we can get that (swap) pushed through and keep our permits going, it’ll keep the mine going for years," said Jason Robertson, who has worked at the mine since it became Signal Peak.
The United Nations considers climate change a global crisis, of which, coal is the dirtiest contributing fuel, something the G7 aims to phase out by 2035.
“We really want to protect our property because, like everybody, we wanna be able to pass our property on to our children and grandchildren," said Tom Baratta, chairperson of the Bull Mountain Land Alliance which is concerned with the environmental imapcts of Signal Peak's mining.
Rally organizers said around 30% of Roundup's tax dollars are generated by the mine alongside hundreds of jobs.
“There are plenty of people that would like to see an end to coal production here in Montana and we just can’t have it. There are too many families that depend on it," said Derin Gebhardt, the assistant chief of Roundup's fire department.
While economic development may not be easy, Baratta said his community should learn from the example the layoff scenarios facing places like the Sibanye-Stillwater Mine are setting for how impacted communities may rebound.
“We would hope that we could work with the county to develop some economic strategies to build more resilience in the community as well. Again, dependence on just one industry, that’s the risk that we run," said Baratta.
