MONTANA ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION CENTER
Zortman-Landusky Nightmare by Derf Johnson
W
ithout a doubt, the permitting system for hardrock mining in Montana is broken. There can be no other explanation, and no justifiable excuse, for the exploration permit that was recently issued by the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to an unlicensed Montana entity calling itself Blue Arc. The permit allows Blue Arc to conduct exploration activities at the former Zortman-Landusky mine site, an ongoing environmental nightmare that will likely have to be managed for generations – well into the next century. What is truly distressing is not just that this permit was issued, but that the Fort Belknap Indian Community (FBIC), which is directly downstream of the former mine and has borne the brunt of its pollution and devastation, was never consulted by DEQ in advance of it issuing the permit. This egregious decision and environmental injustice by DEQ has forced FBIC, along with MEIC and partner organizations, to initiate legal proceedings challenging the process and validity of the permit. By way of background, the Zortman-Landusky gold mine is actually two distinct sites that were originally permitted for gold mining in the late 1970s. Pegasus Gold Corp. owned and operated the mines utilizing a process known as cyanide heap leaching, a process that is now banned in Montana due to an MEIC-sponsored ballot initiative. During its operation, the mine produced approximately 2.5
18
million ounces of gold and operated until 1998, when Pegasus abruptly declared bankruptcy and fled Montana, leaving behind a number of mining operations that were under-bonded, unreclaimed, and toxic. Due in part to a provision in Montana’s Constitution which requires that “all lands disturbed by the taking of natural resources” be reclaimed, the former Pegasus mine lands and waters are now being remediated, reclaimed, and treated by the state and federal government. As of 2018, at least $80 million of public money has been spent, and the State of Montana has shelled out over $32 million at the Zortman-Landusky site alone. Due to the ongoing water treatment costs associated with the acid mine drainage emanating from the old mine workings, upwards of $2-$2.5 million in public money will have to be spent annually, in perpetuity (i.e., forever), to control the Zortman-Landusky pollution. The story of this disaster only gets richer. Zortman-Landusky and the other Pegasus sites became the poster children for problems in the permitting and bonding of hardrock mines in Montana. The outcry led to legislative reform in the 2001 Montana Legislature, including increased bonding requirements and the creation of Montana’s “Bad Actor” law. The Bad Actor law inserts accountability into the process for hardrock mining owner/operators by preventing new operating permits from being issued to individuals and corporations if the reclamation obligations for an already permitted mine are not being satisfied. This provision was recently used to suspend the operating permits for mines proposed on the flanks of the Cabinet Mountains
Protecting Montana’s natural environment since 1973 .
