Commissioners oppose mining ballot initiative

By JOHN BLODGETT

The Western News

The Lincoln County Commission has declared its opposition to a mining-related ballot initiative it believes is unnecessary and potentially harmful to the state’s economy.

“Yes for Responsible Mining,” a coalition of conservation groups, is behind Initiative 186, which seeks to amend parts of the Metal Mine Reclamation section of Montana law.

According to its description, the initiative “requires the Department of Environmental Quality to deny a permit for any new hardrock mines in Montana unless the reclamation plan provides clear and convincing evidence that the mine will not require perpetual treatment of water polluted by acid mine drainage or other contaminants.”

The groups behind I-186 must now gather signatures from more than 25,000 registered voters from around the state by June 21 for the measure to qualify for the November ballot, the Associated Press has reported.

Commissioners Mark Peck, Jerry Bennett and Mike Cole noted their opposition in Resolution 2018-05, which they adopted May 16. The resolution notes that Montana already has “some of the most stringent mining permit requirements in the world,” that “at least 37 new state and federal laws have been enacted over the past three decades that ensure mining operations are strictly regulated and operated responsibly,” and that I-186 would make “unnecessary changes … to Montana’s existing permitting structure.”

Further, the resolution refers to a Montana Legislative Services legal review that found “several ambiguous and confusing sections, undefined or ill-defined terms, and conflicting legal standards that would promote litigation and prevent mining in Montana.”

The ballot language itself addresses the lack of definition of terms.

“The terms ‘perpetual treatment,’ ‘perpetual leaching,’ and ‘contaminants’ within I-186 are not fully defined and would require further definition from the Montana Legislature or through Department of Environmental Quality rulemaking,” it states.

The resolution also points out the mining industry’s contributions to state and local economies, including tax revenues and “good-paying jobs to support generations of Montana families.”

“I see absolutely no need for (the initiative),” Peck said during the discussion that preceded the commission’s vote. “All it does is brings confusion and ambiguity and just sets everything up for lawsuits.”

“This needs to be done legislatively, not through initiative,” he added.

“Lincoln County, in the situation we’re in, we need to be out front leading the charge against this kind of initiative,” said Cole.

“I-186 is very necessary in Montana,” David Brooks, executive director of Montana Trout Unlimited and a proponent of I-186, said Monday via email. He argued that the state legislature “has weakened mine permitting and regulation laws in the last few decades,” leading to “the permitting and closure of mines such as Zortman-Landusky, Beal Mountain, and many others, which have resulted in the permanent pollution of water with acid mine drainage or other contaminants harmful to our rivers, streams and public drinking water.”

Brooks noted the cost to taxpayers of reclamation of such mines.

“We can and should have mining in Montana, but we should do it without irreparably damaging our water and saddling our citizens with the cost of cleaning up a company’s mess,” he wrote.

Brooks also took issue with the Lincoln County resolution’s criticisms of the initiative, stating that “as in most any statute, technical terms are best handled in rule-making,” and that “the ‘clear and convincing evidence’ that I-186 requires mine permit applicants to show that they will not require permanent treatment of permanently polluted water will discourage, not encourage, litigation.”

According to the initiative’s ballot language, it will cost $115,360 in its first fiscal year and increase to $118,767 by fiscal year 2021.

“These costs are associated with more staff for environmental review for mining permit applications and anticipated litigation,” it states.

The Montana Secretary of State approved the initiative on May 3 after rejecting two previous versions.