State accused in suit of ignoring water issues

HELENA, MT — Eight environmental groups filed a lawsuit against the state Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), claiming the agency ignored potential water quality violations when it assessed the environmental impacts of a proposed copper and silver mine. The DEQ issued a permit to Sterling Mining Co., Couer d' Alene, ID, to discharge wastewater without performing a non-degradation review, the groups claim in the lawsuit. Heavy metals from the Rock Creek mine, whose site is in Montana near the Idaho border, would be discharged in wastewater into the Clark Fork River. This would affect the drinking water for about 3,000 people in three Montana towns who use wells and springs for their water sources, according to Mary Mitchell, executive director of one of the opposing groups, the Rock Creek Alliance. The wastewater would also affect Idaho's Lake Pend Oreille, which connects with the Clark Fork River and is used as an emergency drinking water source during droughts for around 7,000 residents in a town near the lake, according to Michele Murphree, administrative assistant of the Rock Creek Alliance. The DEQ and US Forest Service approved the plan for the mine 26 December and claim the results from their joint environmental impact statement show the water will not be negatively affected by the mine. The effluent levels do not exceed state levels and will not be harmful to the water, said Tom Reid, supervisor of the Water Quality Discharge Permit Section for the DEQ. Sterling Mining will use a reverse osmosis (RO) system and biological treatment system for the wastewater, which is supposed to be released at around 3.2 million gallons per day. Heather Duval of Sterling Mining said it is too soon to pick companies to supply the water treatment. However, Mitchell criticized the methods of treatment, claiming that biological treatment systems do not work well in cold weather, and that RO units are meant for home use and are not designed for the large amounts of heavy metals that would leave the mine. Plans for the mine have gone through several modifications and studies since it was first proposed in 1987, according to John North, the DEQ's legal counsel. It has been owned since 1999 by Sterling Mining Co., which also owns another copper and silver mine near the Rock Creek Mine. The 1,668-acre Rock Creek Mine will be in operation for between 30 and 37 years, officials said. Part of the site will be used as an underground storage facility for groundwater, which will be used for blasting in the mine and to operate a mill there. The DEQ has 40 days to answer to the lawsuit. The environmental groups also filed a second lawsuit in federal court because they claim the mine would disrupt bear and trout populations in the area. — Ted Montuori, WaterTechOnline Assistant Managing Editor