Upper Missouri Waterkeeper recently took legal action against the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to protect the Big Hole River from new mining activities at the Calvert Tungsten Mine.
DEQ approved a Small Miner Exclusion Statement (SMES) to Mithril Mining Corporation without providing any public notice, public participation opportunities, or any review under the Montana Environmental Policy Act (MEPA). This lawsuit is about ensuring transparency and accountability in decision-making before approving industrial activities whose impacts on nearby water resources remain unknown.
Why We’re Suing
We’re challenging DEQ’s failure to uphold Montana’s constitutional mandates. DEQ approved a SMES for Mithril’s mine without providing any public notice, public participation opportunities such as public comment periods, or environmental review under MEPA.
Our lawsuit requests relief for three violations:
- Violation of the right to know and right to participate – the public was denied a reasonable opportunity to comment on the agency decision, which is of significant interest to the public. DEQ also denied Waterkeeper staff the requested documentation of the mining operation approval in person at DEQ’s headquarters.
- Violation of the Montana Environmental Policy Act – DEQ failed to perform the required analysis of potential environmental impacts.
- Violation of the Montana Constitution – The Mining Act’s allowance of the SMES is unconstitutional as it lacks a regulatory scheme that provides for meaningful environmental review.
What’s at Stake
The Big Hole is one of Montana’s most iconic rivers and a cornerstone of our outdoor economy, outdoor recreation, and way of life. DEQ has also recently announced its intent to formally list the river as impaired due to widespread water quality challenges, on top of the historically low trout populations in the river.
Proposed mining activities threaten to further degrade this already-stressed resource. Without rigorous science-based review, there is no evidentiary basis to know if these mining activities will cause further harm to a “clean and healthful environment,” a guarantee protected by our constitution.
The Importance of Thorough Decision-Making
Montana has a long, sordid history with industrial extraction, and we know what happens to our water resources when mining permits are granted without proper scrutiny.
This lawsuit isn’t about stopping mining outright. It’s about requiring thorough environmental analysis and public involvement before categorically exempting projects.
Protecting our headwaters requires an “all of the above” approach based on science to make informed decisions that will build resiliency in our systems, not approving projects without even understanding their impacts.
Next Steps
This week, Waterkeeper’s discovery request is due that requests how many SMES have been issued, where they are located, and what type of review has been conducted.
Our waterways are facing a diversity of threats, yet DEQ has likely approved dozens of SMES without taking reasonable steps to understand the impacts of industrial mining activities on our waters.
This will likely be a long battle, but we’re committed to ensuring that decisions affecting our waterways are transparent, grounded in science, and thoroughly vetted.
Photo Credit: Mithril Mining Co.