TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – A US district court judge has granted a motion for judicial relief of a previous ruling, and agreed that Consol Energy's Fola operations, near Bickmore West Virginia, can continue to operate beyond a previously imposed deadline of January 23.

In November, Judge Robert Chambers found deficiencies in the permit notification process by the US Army Corp of Engineers, and set aside a permit that had been issued in January 2008.

The permit suspension followed an appeal by the Ohio Valley Environmental Council.

At the time, Chambers stayed his ruling for 60 days, to give Fola an opportunity to appeal or seek other relief, but the company warned that about 482 people would be laid off if the operations were idled.

The order issued on Monday allows Consol to continue operating in six valley fills that were already being affected by surface mining operations, the company said.

"We are very pleased by Judge Chambers' ruling, which is welcome news to our nearly 500 Fola employees and their families, especially during this holiday season," said COO Nicholas DeIuliis.

"This ruling will allow us to re-focus our attention on operating the Fola Complex safely, efficiently and in an environmentally sound manner."

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