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Lawsuits loom on mine waste
Three environmental groups announced Tuesday they may sue the Caribou-Targhee National Forest and J.R. Simplot Co. regarding alleged violations of a federal waste dumping law at the Smoky Canyon Mine.
The mine supplies Simplot, a large agri-business company, with phosphate ore for processing at its Don Plant in Pocatello. In their 60-day notice letter about the potential lawsuit, the Greater Yellowstone Coalition and the Natural Resources Defense Council, represented by attorneys with Earth Justice, argued open dumping of waste rock at the mine has illegally contaminated the underlying aquifer with toxic levels of selenium. The groups have requested a meeting to see if a compromise can be reached to avoid litigation.
The final environmental impact statement for a proposed expansion of the Smoky Canyon Mine is scheduled for publication in the Federal Register on Friday. A GYC official said Tuesday a lawsuit against the proposed mine expansion is also ''a pretty foregone conclusion.'' ''It will be the same partners who will litigate on that decision,'' said John Hart, communications manager with the GYC Phosphate Campaign.
Hart said the final environmental impact statement includes 800 pages of new material, and GYC has requested that the 30-day review period on the document be lengthened to between 45 and 60 days. The Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management will release a record of decision some time after the review period concludes. Once the record of decision is released, Simplot will commence the year-long process of preparing the Smoky Canyon Mine expansion for extraction, said Simplot spokesman Rick Phillips. Simplot estimates the current mine will be depleted of ore within two years.
Phillips said the final environmental impact statement requires the seleniferous rock to be returned to excavated portions within the new mine and covered by a state-of-the-art, 6-foot-thick cap, which would include a clay layer. He stressed the preferred route of a haul road to the mine expansion has also been moved to avoid private property. ''This (environmental impact statement) is obviously an essential step to keep that uninterrupted supply of ore coming to the Don Plant,'' Phillips said.
If the record of decision allows mining to proceed within the expansion, that decision could be appealed to either federal court or the U.S. Department of Interior Board of Land Appeals. In federal court, the case would likely be heard by Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill, explained Jeff Cundick, minerals branch chief with the Pocatello BLM field office. Cundick explained the appellant could request an injunction to stop work at the mine pending a decision.
''Often (judges) will grant an injunction or stay to preserve the status quo pending a judicial review,'' Cundick said. Though Cundick declined to comment on the allegations raised by the environmental groups due to the possibility of litigation, he said the BLM and Forest Service have gone to great lengths to draft a responsible environmental impact statement.
''We feel that based on our analysis of the mine plan and the environmental protection measures that we've identified in the EIS we have a highly mitigated mine plan that will not violate the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act or any of the environmental laws and regulations. ''We spent an extra couple of years on this EIS to look in great depth at what kind of conditions of approval would be appropriate to make sure that the operation does not have any adverse effects on the environment.''
But Cundick also acknowledges it would be impossible to avoid at least some environmental impacts of allowing an open-pit mine in a forested area. Article RatingReader CommentsSubmit a CommentCommenting RulesWe encourage your feedback and dialog. All comments are subject to deletion by our Web staff.
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