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Public Service Commission retains outside counsel to monitor Westmoreland bankruptcy
Summary
The Public Service Commission voted to retain Misty Segura as special assistant attorney general to monitor the Westmoreland bankruptcy and protect mine reclamation bonds, approving the appointment by voice vote at an administrative meeting.
The Public Service Commission voted unanimously at an administrative meeting to retain Misty Segura as a special assistant attorney general to provide legal services related to the Westmoreland bankruptcy.
The action, moved by Speaker 1 and seconded by Speaker 2, directs outside counsel to monitor bankruptcy proceedings that could affect bonds held for mine reclamation. "I move that upon appointment as special assistant attorneys general, the commission retained Misty Segura to provide legal services to the commission to review the Westmoreland bankruptcy," Speaker 1 said when making the motion.
Commissioners discussed the history and possible risks tied to the bankruptcy. Speaker 1 said Westmoreland’s bankruptcy previously affected a mine south of Beulah that supplied coal for the Coyote Station south of Beulah and for two Heskett Station plants north of Mandan. Speaker 1 said the company is "a big, I believe, international company" and that legal staff had monitored the case previously to prevent bond funds intended for reclamation from being diverted. "If we're not in the room at the table, what if somebody gets the big idea that, well, we could take that bond and use it to pay off some creditors somewhere else?" Speaker 1 said. The speaker added that the matter was being reopened after a previously uninvolved attorney who had a relationship with the bankruptcy judge reopened aspects of the case.
During the meeting, Speaker 2 asked where Misty Segura is based; Speaker 1 replied, "I believe Texas, but I I don't know which town." The commission approved the motion by voice vote; Speaker 2 called for the vote, commissioners responded "aye," and the motion was approved. The meeting then recessed from administrative business and adjourned the regular session.
No statute, ordinance, or other legal citation was named during the discussion. The commission record does not include a roll-call vote count in the transcript excerpt provided; the approval was recorded as a voice vote.
