Seventeen environmental groups are urging state agencies to hold hearings on the proposed Otter Creek mine in cities where the coal would pass through by rail.
    
Public hearings are scheduled to this week in Broadus, Ashland and Lame Deer to establish the scope of the state's environmental review for the mine.
    
The groups sent a letter Monday to the state Department of Environmental Quality and Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. They say the southeastern Montana hearings do not include other communities that will be affected by increased train traffic.
    
DEQ Director Tracy Stone-Manning said there will be no additional hearings. But she says anybody interested in the coal mine can read Arch Coal Inc.'s application and comment on it by going to the DEQ's website.