Copper And Silver Mine Under Lawsuit

MONTANA, Jun 27 2008 (Neo Natura) - A lawsuit seeks to block development of a copper and silver mine beneath the federal Cabinet Mountains Wilderness in northwestern Montana.

Conservation groups claiming the Rock Creek Mine would jeopardize sensitive bull trout filed a case this week charging the tentative state permit for the project is the wrong kind and imposes only run-of-the-mill requirements. The suit in state court seeks an order demanding a comparatively stringent permit for the mine proposed by Washington-based Revett Minerals Inc., which has said mining would not disturb the surface of the wilderness area. State work preceding that permit would include a study to assess the potential for water degradation from mining.

Plaintiffs Trout Unlimited, Earthworks, the Rock Creek Alliance and the Clark Fork Coalition also say the state's present plan for issuing a permit does not include sufficient public involvement.

The suit filed in Helena names Revett and the Montana Department of Environmental Quality. Other cases against the mine are pending in federal court.

Revett Vice President Carson Rife said Tuesday that he had not seen the suit, but based on a summary, the case appears "baseless." DEQ lawyer John North said he also had not seen the suit. North declined to comment.

The suit says that DEQ and Revett expect mine development to move forward with a general permit, rather than with a water-quality permit. The latter would require consideration of conditions surrounding the mine project, which stands to harm fish by increasing sediment in Rock Creek, according to the complaint. It says the steps for issuing a water-quality permit would trigger public involvement requirements, as well.

The general permit never was intended for projects where "unique ecological resources are at stake," said Trout Unlimited's Loren Albright. "If Rock Creek doesn't meet that definition, I don't know what does."

Native fish in Rock Creek cannot tolerate sediment beyond the existing level, the conservation groups say.

Rife said Revett plans sediment control, and expects to remove many tons before and after mining begins.

"The plan is to reduce existing sediment loads, not increase them," he said.

On the issue of the permit classification and public involvement Rife said, "We feel Montana DEQ knows the law, knows the process and is following the law."

Revett has for years sought approval for the mine and recently began constructing warehouse and office buildings at the site.

Ongoing federal cases against the mine include allegations that reviews by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service did not satisfy requirements of the Endangered Species Act. Besides bull trout, federally classified as a threatened species, mine critics have expressed concern about effects on grizzly bears.