BUENA VISTA – Interior Secretary Sally Jewell insisted over the weekend that she and other federal authorities are “doing everything we can” to stop a shutdown of the Colowyo coal mine, which could include a request for more time to finish a court-ordered review.

Jewell squeezed in a meeting on the mine’s future late Friday with a dozen northwest Colorado officials and congressional staffers, telling them that she feels confident that her department will be able to complete an environmental review by the Sept. 6 deadline.

“I have a team of people working hard on it and they’re telling me they think they can get it across the finish line,” said Jewell after Saturday’s dedication of the Browns Canyon National Monument.

If not, she said she believes U.S. District Court Judge R. Brooke Jackson will grant the Office of Surface Mining more time to finish the National Environmental Policy Act review on the eight-year-old mine-expansion permit.

“I did tell the group last night, if something comes up along the way, and we need a short-term extension, that we would certainly ask the judge for that,” Jewell said.

Jewell became the focal point for the Colowyo mine controversy in May after U.S. District Court Judge R. Brooke Jackson gave her department 120 days to redo an environmental review on the expansion permit, which was granted under the Bush administration.

While the order placed northwest Colorado on high alert, Jewell has been criticized for a lack of urgency. She refused earlier this month to file an appeal in the case, which would have allowed the department to request a stay of the order.

During her two-day visit to Colorado, she also declined to meet with coal miners or tour northwest Colorado communities such as Craig and Meeker that would be hit hardest by a mine closure, despite entreaties from state and local lawmakers.

Still, locals were able to make their point by signing two giant cardboard cards placed outside the meeting room with the message, “Dear Ms. Jewell/Please let us keep our jobs!/Thank you!”

Jewell, who delivered a speech earlier Friday at the Aspen Institute, called the meeting “a good opportunity for me to listen to their concerns.”

“It was also a good opportunity for me to reassure them that we are doing everything we can to correct the deficiencies in the NEPA within the time frame that the judge has given us,” she said.

She pushed back against the suggestion by some, including Colorado Department of Natural Resources director Mike King, that 120 days may not be enough time to complete the review.

“I think we’ve shown really good faith that we’re making every effort that we can to address the issues and we’re still confident that we’re on track to do it within the 120-day period,” Jewell said.

Republican Rep. Scott Tipton, who attended the Glenwood Springs meeting, said afterward, “I hope she got a better understanding of the important impact the Colowyo mine has on the economy of northwest Colorado.”

A mine closure would jeopardize 220 direct jobs and millions in economic activity. While 220 jobs might not sound like much, those positions represent 2.3 percent of the town of Craig, population 9,400, said Tipton.

“If something of this magnitude was happening to a larger metropolitan area, such as the President’s hometown of Chicago, where 2.3 percent of the population is nearly 62,000 people, there would be a much greater sense of urgency by this Administration and we probably would have heard from them sooner,” said Tipton in a statement.

He added that he was pleased to hear Jewell say she would request an extension if necessary, but that, “[g]iven this administration’s record of attacks on the mining industry and affordable electricity, however, we will keep in close communication with the Secretary to make sure that everything possible is being done to save the jobs at the Colowyo mine.”

Moffat County Commissioner John Kinkaid said he appreciated Jewell’s “strong confidence” that the permit will be completed by the deadline.

“It is my hope that Ms. Jewell will see the merits of DOI appealing the Judge’s ruling, when it is final, and direct her attorneys to file the motion to appeal,” Kinkaid added. “Jackson’s ruling sets a very ominous precedent with nation-wide repercussions. It needs to be challenged.”

Tri-State Transmission and Generation, which owns the Colowyo mine, has filed a request for a stay pending appeal. The lawsuit challenging the legality of the federal permit was filed by the environmental group WildEarth Guardians.

“Tri-State is grateful to those officials across northwest Colorado and the state for their unwavering support of our employees at Colowyo Mine,” said Tri-State spokesman Lee Boughey in an email. “We appreciate all of their efforts, including the local elected officials taking the time to meet with Secretary Jewell to discuss their concerns.”

“We remain confident that the Department of the Interior, Office of Surface Mining and the Fish and Wildlife Service are doing all they can to complete their work within the 120-day period, and that Secretary Jewell is providing that support,” Boughey said.

At Friday’s meeting, Jewell said, local officials “did push us on appealing.”

“I said I felt the best thing for certainty for the communities and for the people whose jobs are affected was to address the deficiencies within the time frame,” she said, “so that’s what we’re doing.”

– valrichardson17@gmail.com