Memorandum Opinion and Order
Pending before the Court are Apogee Coal Company, LLC (“Apogee”) and Hobet Mining LLC’s (“Hobet”)1 motions to modify the consent decrees (Docs. 149 & 61) in civil actions 3:07-cv0413 and 3:08-cv-0088, respectively; Plaintiffs’ motion for contempt (Doc. 156) in 3:07-cv-0413; and the scope and terms of injunctive relief in 3:09-cv-01167. A trial on the motions was held from August 9, 2010, until August 12, 2010. After trial, the parties represented that they were close to resolving the matter and requested a stay of closing arguments and ruling, in order to allow the parties to continue negotiations. The Court continued the argument, as requested. Over the next three weeks, the Court consulted with the parties on the status of their negotiations on several occasions. The parties represented that a settlement in principal had been reached and requested time to negotiate a joint consent decree. Further continuance was granted.
