The King II Coal Mine in southwestern La Plata County may obtain recommendation for approval next week for an overdue county land-use permit, though the terms of that permit remain unclear.
After a Feb. 25 public hearing was postponed, the La Plata County Planning Commission rescheduled a review of the application for Wednesday and will make a recommendation to the county board of commissioners.
King II opened in 2007 as an offshoot of King I, owned by Mexico-based cement producers Grupos Cementos de Chihuahua but has never held a license to operate in the county.
The county did not require the business, which supplies coal to cement factories, to have a permit until the owners announced expansion plans.
Commissioners last fall gave mine representatives a hard February deadline to apply for a license, warning that the King II has operated unpermitted for years with sufficient time to come into compliance.
Residents of County Road 120, which GCC trucks travel both ways daily, vehemently protested the traffic and noise at the October meeting.
As terms of the land-use permit, GCC may have to cover the cost of paving the road and improvements.
County planning staff members say they engage on a daily basis with mine officials to work through the licensing process and look forward to its conclusion.
The planning commission will meet at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the county board room at 1101 East Second Ave.
