A lawsuit has been filed in the Utah Supreme Court by environmentalists to stop the development of a coal mine near the Bryce Canyon National Park.
The surface coal mine is to be located about 10 miles away from the park and a number of conservation groups are opposing it.
The Alton Coal Development company was given the permit for the coal mine by the Utah Board of Oil, Gas and Mining last month. The company had hoped to mine about 2 million tons of coal from the seam near the tiny town of Alton annually for about 3 to 5 years.
It had first applied for the permit to mine in the state land outside the southern end of the national park in 2006. As per officials the company has followed all the correct environmental procedures and was thus awarded the mining permit.
However environment conservationists say that the operation of 300 trucks through the little gateway town of Pangitch every day to ship the mined coal would degrade the majestic canyon and cause air pollution.
There are thousands of visitors who visit the Bryce Canyon National Park each year. It contributes in a large manner to the local economy. If the pollution is allowed to get in the way the park will not attract so many visitors as per the plaintiffs in the case.