ND PSC awards Coyote Creek $21,517.50 in attorney fees after repeated, jurisdictional claims

The North Dakota Public Service Commission on May 8 adopted an order awarding Coyote Creek Mining Company LLC $21,517.50 in attorney fees in two permit proceedings after finding several issues raised by landowners were outside PSC jurisdiction or previously litigated.

Commissioner Randy Christman presented the history of the cases, recounting filings that began June 18, 2024, public comments from landowners Casey and Julie Voigt, a request for formal hearing, a December 13 formal hearing, and subsequent orders and appeals. The commission found that several issues raised at the formal hearing — including access, compaction, yield maps, and dust — were not identified in the Voigts’ August 26 comments and that graded-spoil sampling had been recently litigated and affirmed by district court.

The commission found Coyote Creek incurred $47,245.50 in attorney fees; it subtracted an amount the commission said would have been incurred regardless ($17,121), and after proportional reductions determined that $21,517.50 was reasonably attributable to the five issues the commission deemed without merit. The commission exercised its discretion not to award agency costs. Commissioners Sherry Haugenhofer and Jill Grinstead both voiced support for the award on the record, citing repeated, jurisdictional filings and a lack of new evidence at the formal hearing.

The PSC’s order also recounts that the relocation of Eighteenth Street Southwest and access issues are within Mercer County jurisdiction and that the PSC’s prior orders require consultation before finalizing reference areas. The commission directed no further immediate remedies in this order beyond awarding attorney fees; the parties may pursue other relief consistent with statute and prior orders.