By Gary Harmon

May 28, 2016 - A U.S. Forest Service study of the effects of mining coal in the North Fork Valley on the global climate meets requirements set by a federal court, U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton, R-Colo., said he was told by the head of the agency.

His meeting with Tom Tidwell on Thursday “was very encouraging,” Tipton said in a statement.

Tipton had hoped to meet with Tidwell and Shaun Donovan, head of the Office of Management and Budget, regarding the involvement of OMB in the study.

The study issue could affect the expansion of the West Elk Mine near Somerset. Arch Coal is planning to mine beneath a roadless area, as allowed by the Colorado Roadless Rule, adopted in 2012.

The study was to be complete this spring, but the management and budget office sought a delay until the fall, saying it amounted to a “significant regulatory action,” according to the Forest Service.

Tipton said he still hoped to meet with Donovan and urge the agency to expedite its review.

Another Tipton effort moved forward this week as well. A measure that would recognize the supremacy of state water law over federal agencies was included in a package of bills that passed the U.S. House on Wednesday.

Tipton’s measure also would protect private water rights from demands by federal agencies in exchange for permits to operate on federal lands.

It was passed as a part of a House amendment to the Senate’s Energy Policy Modernization Act, which now goes back to the Senate.