{LTB-00075755- } 

Kristen E. Burgers (VSB No. 67997) 

Stephen E. Leach (VSB No. 20601) 

LEACH TRAVELL PC 

8270 Greensboro Drive, Suite 700 

Tysons Corner, Virginia 22102 

Telephone: (703) 584-8364 

Email: kburgers@ltblaw.com 

Email: sleach@ltblaw.com 

Counsel to Sierra Club, West Virginia Highlands Conservancy 

and Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition

UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT 

EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA 

RICHMOND DIVISION 

In re: 

ALPHA NATURAL RESOURCES, INC., 

 et al., 

 Debtors. 

) 

) 

) 

) 

) 

) 

) 

Chapter 11 

Case No. 15-33896 (KRH) 

(Jointly Administered) 

OBJECTION OF SIERRA CLUB, WEST VIRGINIA HIGHLANDS CONSERVANCY 

AND OHIO VALLEY ENVIRONMENTAL COALITION TO DEBTORS’ MOTION FOR 

ENTRY OF AN ORDER EXPEDITING CONSIDERATION OF, AND SHORTENING 

THE NOTICE PERIOD APPLICABLE TO, THE SETTLEMENT MOTION 

 Sierra Club, West Virginia Highlands Conservancy and Ohio Valley Environmental 

Coalition, parties-in-interest herein (together, the “Environmental Parties”), by counsel, file their 

objection (the “Objection”) to the Debtors’ Motion for Entry of an Order Expediting 

Consideration of, and Shortening the Notice Period Applicable to, the Settlement Motion (the 

“Motion to Expedite”) [Docket No. 1050], filed in connection with the Debtors’ Motion, 

Pursuant to Bankruptcy Rule 9019, for Entry of Stipulation and Order Concerning Reclamation 

Bonding of their Surface Coal Mining Operations in West Virginia (the “Settlement Motion”) 

[Docket No. 1049] and, in support thereof, respectfully state as follows: 

1. The Debtors seek to have the Settlement Motion heard on an expedited basis, on 

the grounds that (a) the proposed Settlement Agreement, dated December 7, 2015, requires the 

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Debtors to obtain Court approval within thirty days, (b) the next omnibus hearing date for these 

Bankruptcy Cases is scheduled for January 21, 2016, and (c) the 90 day period (the “Response 

Period”) in which they had to respond to the WVDEP’s September 1, 2015, bonding substitution 

demand has expired. 

2. None of the above-listed reasons justify expedited treatment of the Settlement 

Motion. First, the Response Period already expired on November 29, 2015, one week before the 

proposed Settlement Agreement was executed. The parties have been aware of the Debtors’ 

inability to satisfy WVDEP’s self-bonding requirements for months. Second, the parties’ 

deadline to obtain Court approval within 30 days is self-imposed. Given the Court’s calendar 

and the omnibus hearing dates, it was unrealistic for the Debtors and WVDEP to set a 30 day 

deadline for Court approval. 

3. Finally, and most importantly, expedited treatment is not appropriate for the 

Settlement Motion. The Settlement Motion raises complex issues of law and fact. The issue of 

self-bonding implicates overlapping (but not identical) federal and state regulatory schemes, all 

of which must be considered within the context of the Bankruptcy Code. Whether or not the 

proposed settlement with WVDEP is reasonable also involves factual questions of the Debtors’ 

financial capability to post bonds and perform reclamation activities and the status of the 

Debtors’ mining activities in West Virginia. The proposed expedited schedule simply does not 

allow the Environmental Parties adequate time to investigate the facts and prepare a 

comprehensive objection to the Settlement Motion.1

 

 

1

 As required by the notice of the Motion to Expedite and Settlement Motion, the Environmental Parties intend to 

file an objection to the Settlement Motion contemporaneously with this Objection. However, the Environmental 

Parties reserve their rights to supplement or amend the objection to the Settlement Motion. 

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4. The reasons put forth by the Debtors in the Motion to Expedite simply don’t 

warrant “emergency” treatment. The parties should be given adequate time to brief the issues, 

and the Court should have adequate time to consider the parties’ arguments. 

WHEREFORE, for all the foregoing reasons, the Environmental Parties pray for the entry 

of an order denying the Motion to Expedite. 

Dated: December 14, 2015 Respectfully submitted, 

/s/ Kristen E. Burgers 

Kristen E. Burgers (VSB No. 67997) 

Stephen E. Leach (VSB No. 20601) 

LEACH TRAVELL PC 

8270 Greensboro Drive, Suite 700 

Tysons Corner, Virginia 22102 

Telephone: (703) 584-8364 

Email: kburgers@ltblaw.com

Counsel to Sierra Club, West Virginia Highlands 

Conservancy and Ohio Valley Environmental 

Coalition

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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 

I hereby certify that on December 14, 2015, I caused a copy of the foregoing Objection of 

Sierra Club, West Virginia Highlands Conservancy and Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition to 

the Debtors’ Motion for Entry of an Order Expediting Consideration of, and Shortening the 

Notice Period Applicable to, the Settlement Motion to be served (i) via overnight delivery 

service on the parties named below and (ii) via the Court’s CM/ECF system, e-mail, and/or first 

class mail, postage prepaid, on all parties identified on the MSL/2002 Service List (as of 

December 14, 2015) as published on the Kurtzman Carson Consultants LLC website 

(www.kccllc.net/alpharestructuring/). 

David G. Heiman 

Carl E. Black 

Thomas A. Wilson 

Jones Day 

North Point 

901 Lakeside Avenue 

Cleveland, OH 44114 

Tyler P. Brown 

J.R. Smith 

Henry P. (Toby) Long, III 

Justin F. Paget 

Hunton & Williams 

951 East Byrd Street 

Richmond, VA 23219 

/s/ Kristen E. Burgers 

Kristen E. Burgers 

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