(CN) — After capitalizing on a two-day lapse in a federal mining ban at Montana’s beleaguered Zortman-Landusky mines in 2020, a small mining company appears to have been developing its claims without the authorization of the state environmental agency.
In early July, the Montana Department of Environmental Quality drafted an administrative order that would require two individuals and their mining companies to reverse the damage they’ve caused to the site of the former Zortman gold mines. They’d also be required to pay more than a half-million dollars in penalties for violating the Montana Metal Mine Reclamation Act by operating without permits and for refusing to post bond money for reclamation.
However, at this point, the administrative order is only a draft document, said Montana DEQ spokeswoman Moira Davin. But Davin said it’s being used as a stick to encourage Luke Ployhar of Bozeman and Owen Voigt of Helena to stop their digging, which is destroying some of the reclamation work that’s been completed since the mine was listed as a federal Superfund site in 2004.
“The negotiations are ongoing. DEQ reserves the right to issue the order if discussions aren’t successful,” Davins said.
The Assiniboine and Gros Ventres tribes of the Fort Belknap Reservation are following the proceedings closely, as are three environmental groups: Earthworks, the Montana Environmental Information Center and Montana Trout Unlimited. They reacted Wednesday upon learning of the draft administrative order.
“The devastation at Zortman-Landusky from previous mining activity is unforgivable. The Little Rockies and the Zortman-Landusky area should be off limits to any more mining,” said Derf Johnson, Montana Environmental Information Center attorney. “It’s jaw dropping that someone would risk even further environmental devastation, and so we’re heartened to see DEQ crack down on risky mining activity.”
When it comes to examples of mining’s devastating environmental damage in Montana, the Zortman-Landusky gold and silver mines, located in the Little Rocky Mountains just south of the Fort Belknap Reservation, are probably second only to the extensive copper mines of Butte. Pegasus Gold Corporation used the caustic process of cyanide heap leach mining to extract gold from the Zortman Mine from 1979 until it declared bankruptcy in 1998. After that, the cost of cleanup and reclamation fell to the taxpayers as the state of Montana and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management assumed responsibility.
As Pegasus Gold pulled out, Ployhar bought some land on the Zortman mine site in 2001, which later became part of the Superfund site. According to the draft administrative order, Ployhar’s purchase agreement required Ployhar to allow DEQ access to the property for reclamation activities and that the water on the property be treated forever.
The Zortman mine was one of the first large cyanide heap leach operations in the nation to open, and it experienced many problems, including cyanide spills and surface and groundwater contamination. The mine contains high amounts of sulfide rock, which produces sulfuric acid when exposed to water, either in the form of groundwater or precipitation.
After suffering years of contamination, locals finally sued Pegasus Gold under the Clean Water Act and came away with a $36 million settlement in 1996. However, that doesn’t go far when water has to be treated in perpetuity. The water sources for Fort Belknap are still threatened by acid mine drainage, but currently the tribes’ funding for water treatment lasts only until 2028.
“The Aaniiih and Nakoda Tribes thank the DEQ for upholding the law and issuing a penalty that is commensurate with the egregious violation committed. We will continue to protect our precious water and sacred sites in this area of the reservation,” said Jeffrey Stiffarm, Fort Belknap Indian Community president on Wednesday.