Published: January 14, 2020 |

[Click image to enlarge]

A federal judge chose not to halt a Clean Water Act lawsuit filed by the Nez Perce Tribe that seeks to force a gold mining company to acquire federal permits for pollution discharged from its central Idaho property.

Federal Judge B. Lynn Winmill at Boise turned away a motion by Midas Gold Corp. and its subsidiary, Midas Gold Idaho, to stay the lawsuit filed by the tribe in August. In an earlier ruling, Winmill declined to dismiss the lawsuit outright as requested by the Canadian mining company. Together, both decisions mean the lawsuit will continue.

“Midas Gold’s motion to stay the Tribe’s litigation was simply a delay tactic. The Tribe is eager to move forward with its litigation in order to ensure harmful pollution discharges from the site are stopped,” said Shannon F. Wheeler, chairman of the Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee.

In August, the tribe filed suit, asking the court to force Midas Gold to get National Pollution Discharge Elimination System permits for its property in the remote Stibnite Mining District near the tiny community of Yellow Pine. The tribe contends the company is discharging water polluted with arsenic, cyanide, mercury and other heavy metals into tributaries of the South Fork of the Salmon River that are home to salmon, steelhead and bull trout. The fish are protected by the Endangered Species Act.

The tributaries include the East Fork of the South Fork Salmon River, Meadow Creek and Sugar Creek, which run through the property that sits within the tribe’s traditional territory. The tribe has reserved rights, enumerated in its 1855 Treaty with the federal government, to harvest fish in the area. It also spends about $2.8 million per year in fish restoration activities in the South Fork of the Salmon River drainage, and its members continue to fish there. It has said in court documents the pollution threatens both the fish and tribal members.

The pollution dates back decades and long before Midas Gold acquired the property. The company has not conducted any mining at the site it has owned for about 10 years. But it is in the process of developing plans and acquiring state and federal permits that would allow it to mine gold there. According to its proposal, the company wants to extract gold from old tailings piles at the site and from areas that have not be disturbed. It has also proposed removing barriers to fish, fixing sedimentation problems and removing tailings and other waste that contribute to water quality problems there. It said the proposed cleanup is contingent on it being able to actively mine so some of its profits can be used for remediation.

The company is in negotiations with the Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Forest Service, Idaho Department of Environmental Quality and the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, seeking what is known as an Administrative Order on Consent under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act. The administrative order would govern the cleanup of the property.

The company’s lawyers argued that once it is issued, the court will no longer have jurisdiction. Because of that, its lawyers said the court should stay the proceedings so as to not waste the time and resources of everyone involved. It further said the lawsuit will lead to permitting delays and cause the company financial hardship.

The tribe countered that the company is merely trying to acquire the administrative order and it has not proven it will be successful in the near or distant future and that the ongoing pollution is causing tribal members and the public at large to suffer.

Winmill agreed with the tribe’s arguments.

“Defendants have not demonstrated significant hardship. In comparison, the Tribe has presented evidence that there will be real, tangible harm if the discharge of pollutants continues,” Winmill wrote in his decision dismissing the company’s motion.

He did say the company can refile its motion if the finalization of the sought-after administrative order becomes imminent in the future.

In a brief news release, the company said it remains committed to pursuing its plan of permitting the mine and using profits from gold extracted there to clean up the site and improve fish habitat.

“Above all else, we remain committed to advancing solutions to improve water quality at the site. We did not cause the problems facing the Stibnite Mining District but we are committed to being part of the solution. In fact, today, we are the only ones with a viable plan to address water quality in the historical mining district,” said Laurel Sayer, CEO of Midas Gold Idaho.

Source: Lewiston Tribune

To stop by Midas’ website, CLICK HERE

Be in-the-know when you’re on-the-go!