Public invited to comment on proposed amendment to Troy Mine operating permit

The Montana Department of Environmental Quality has issued a draft environmental assessment for a proposed amendment to the Troy Mine operating permit. The Troy Mine, located 12 miles south of the town of Troy, is currently in reclamation and closure status.

The current reclamation plan requires 18 inches of soil cover over the tailings storage facility. The proposed amendment would modify the soil cover based on Troy Mine’s determination that there is an insufficient volume of soil material to implement the 18-inch cover. The draft environmental assessment evaluates the environmental impacts of the proposed amendment and two alternatives to the proposed amendment.

The Montana Department of Environmental Quality is inviting public comment on the draft environmental assessment. Written comments must be received by Sept. 25, 2017, and may be submitted via email to DEQTroyMine@mt.gov, or to John Koerth, DEQ Hard Rock Mining Bureau, P.O. Box 200901, Helena, MT 59620-0901.

The draft environmental assessment can be downloaded from deq.mt.gov/Public/ea/hardrock. Requests for a hard copy of the draft environmental assessment may be directed to Koerth at 406-444-2461.

The application is also available at deq.mt.gov/Land/Hardrock.