Who is the bad actor here?

To the editor:

I find it very sad that the governor has determined Hecla is a “Bad Actor” and wants to prevent it from developing Rock Creek and Montanore mines. When I read the headlines last week, I thought it was an early April Fool’s Day joke.

Hecla? A bad actor? The same Hecla that acquired the Troy Mine when it purchased Rock Creek from Revett, and is spending millions of dollars complying with the Troy reclamation plan? The same company that began the reclamation process on its own accord and not the state’s or any other federal regulator’s? The same company that did so because it wanted to show everyone how the other two mines would look after their closures? Really?

Hecla has yet to mine a single ton of ore in Montana. The company hasn’t made a single dollar from either the Rock Creek or the Montanore properties which, by the way, they are currently sinking millions of dollars in to properly permit.

So the reward from the Governor for Hecla’s investment in our state is to say it must either spend tens of millions to clean up a mine site it has absolutely no responsibility for, or fire its CEO because he worked for a company over 20 years ago that he had no control or principal interest in.

Sounds like the “Bad Actor” here is the state, led by Gov. Bullock, who is forcing us to add his name to the list of obstructionists that do not care about the opportunity these mines will bring to northwest Montana. Even if it’s a 127-year-old company that has never walked away from its social or environmental responsibilities, building them. How sad.

—Colleen Snyder

Libby