In Montana’s Flathead Basin, another
industry–versus-environment conflict is brewing. But this
time, the battle lines follow the U.S. – Canada border.
Montana senators, federal agencies, and even Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice are trying to stop a planned mine just north of
the border.
Cline Mining Corporation is seeking British
Columbia’s approval for a mountaintop mine just above the
headwaters of the North Fork of the Flathead River. The mine would
produce 2 million tons of coal per year to be shipped to China.
The Flathead Basin, which stretches from northern Montana
into Canada, hosts the highest density of grizzly bears in interior
North America, and threatened bull trout spawn in its streams.
Studies show that the mine would pollute water and destroy fish
habitat by increasing levels of nitrate, sediment and selenium. It
could also harm larger carnivores, including the grizzly.
It’s not the first time companies have tried to mine the
Flathead. In the 1980s, when Sage Crick Corp. proposed a coal mine,
Montana Sen. Max Baucus, D, appealed to the International Joint
Commission, a binational organization established to help resolve
water disputes. After three years of investigation, the commission
recommended against mine approval, citing the impacts mining would
have on the area’s water and habitat. Montana and federal
officials hold that those findings apply equally to the Cline mine
proposal.
But the company is moving ahead; it’s
nearly done with the first step in British Columbia’s
permitting process, scoping out the issues that have to be
addressed in a formal application. The state of Montana and the
Department of the Interior, Environmental Protection Agency, and
the U.S. State Department have all commented, outlining their
concerns about potential downstream impacts, but “most of the
comments were not included in the (permit) document,” says
Rich Moy, chairman of the nonprofit Flathead Basin Commission.
That omission prompted Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer, D,
to draft a letter to the Canadian government calling for a more
extensive environmental assessment. Canadian Ambassador Michael
Wilson promised an environmental review, but didn’t specify how
thorough it would be. So, at the behest of Sen. Baucus, Secretary
of State Rice will meet with her Canadian counterpart and request a
rigorous look at mining impacts.
Cline Mining Corp. plans
to submit its application this fall. In the meantime, groups like
the National Parks Conservation Association are working to raise
awareness among government officials on both sides of the border
about the value of the basin area. “The response (to the coal
mine) has been so strong,” says Will Hammerquist, program
manager for the National Parks Conservation Association,
“because this place means so much for so many people.
It’s a special place. People don’t want to put that at
risk.”
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