Montana, B.C. to share in mine review

HELENA – British Columbia has invited Montana to join the environmental review of a coal mine proposed for the southeastern area of the province, a project that caused a stir in Montana because of possible effects on the transboundary Flathead River Basin.

“British Columbia and Montana are actively working together to share information on natural resource development proposals in order to build confidence and trust between our jurisdictions,” John van Dongen of the province’s intergovernmental relations office said Wednesday. “This is an important step forward in our efforts to have a better understanding of transboundary issues in the Flathead watershed and work effectively with each other.”

Gov. Brian Schweitzer said Montana “looks forward to working with British Columbia as we move forward with the review process.”

A frequent critic of the province’s handling of environmental matters, David Thomas of the City Council in Fernie, B.C., praised the idea of an environmental review involving both the province and the state. Rather than restricting the review’s scope to the mine’s footprint, Thomas said, British Columbia is interested in a broader approach. That is an “enlightened step,” he said.

Canada’s Cline Mining Corp. wants to develop a project called the Lodgepole mine north of Glacier National Park. Concerns in Montana include mine wastewater’s possible harm to Flathead fisheries and recreational waters.

The Montana chapter of the American Fisheries Society says possible oil and gas development in the province have the organization calling for the Flathead River Basin to be declared a conservation zone, for protection of land, water and wildlife. The North Fork Flathead River that flows across the U.S-Canada border is a regional stronghold for fragile bull trout and westslope cutthroat trout.

Absent a conservation zone, the United States and Canada should collect at least four years’ worth of baseline data on water, fish and wildlife, information that could be used in gauging how mining stands to affect natural resources, the society said in recent letters to Schweitzer and British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell.

Both the governor and the premier told the society its proposals will be considered.

“The collection of baseline data has been one of the critical issues in the discussion between Montana and British Columbia, and we expect it will pick up intensity in the near future,” Schweitzer adviser Hal Harper said Wednesday.