Laserfiche WebLink
• HOLLAND & HART • <br />Robert Hykan, Esq. <br />February 16, 1984 <br />Page 3 <br />issued until December of 1982, by which time there had been no <br />lease in effect for three months. Thus, there could not have <br />been a "holding over" under the expired lease, since there had <br />been no mining of the coal during the three-month period <br />between the lease's expiration and issuance of the permit. The <br />MLRD could not properly consider a lease which, on its face, <br />expired three months prior to the permit date as satisfying the <br />requirement for documentation of "right of entry." No docu- <br />ments exist, therefore, in support of either of the two argu- <br />ments advanced by the permittee to justify its continued mining <br />in Section 15. Both arguments rest solely on questionable <br />legal theories which are totally unsupported by any evidence. <br />The reason I have requested a meeting with you and appro- <br />priate representatives of the MLRD is that the foregoing facts <br />are easily demonstrated, principally with documents from MLRD's <br />own files. While I symphathize with your desire to protect the <br />rights of the permittee, i must repeat that it is my client <br />that is experiencing economic loss and damage every day so long <br />as MLRD fails to correct errors associated with the Mining Per- <br />mit, and more than a month has now elapsed since I brought this <br />to the attention of MLRD. At some point, one can't help but <br />begin to question the priorities, if not the motivations, of a <br />regulatory agency which appears to favor the interests of the <br />regulated industry over those public interests which it is <br />charged with protecting. <br />I hope this letter succeeds in communicating my sense of <br />urgency in having this issue resolved promptly and that you are <br />able to respond by establishing some specific, reasonable time <br />frame for that resolution. <br />Very truly yours, <br />Britton White, Jr. <br />of HOLLAND & HART <br />BWjr:dpm <br />cc: Gerard Rem <br />T <br />