Six groups are suing the U.S. Forest Service over its decision to permit the Libby Exploration Project. The project, carried out by Hecla Mining Company, will expand an existing underground mine shaft to survey for silver and copper ore.
The groups are concerned about the site’s location underneath the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness Area. Derf Johnson is with the Montana Environmental Information Center, one of the plaintiffs in the litigation.
"MEIC and our partners are, unfortunately, having to go to court," he says. "And the reason is that this mine is just an awful idea."
Johnson says the Forest Service did not sufficiently assess the threats posed by the exploration project, particularly to endangered species and drinking water in Libby Creek.
"It's very likely going to impact some of the cleanest water that we have here in Montana and in the lower 48. It's a refuge for a very small and threatened population of grizzly bears and bull trout," Johnson says.
This is not the first time legal challenges have been brought against a project at this site. Johnson says, although it’s an exploration, it would likely lead to a mine being built if Hecla finds a sufficient ore body.
Johnson says this latest approval contradicts a prior ruling in 2017, when a court found that a full-scale mining operation at this site would threaten endangered species and would not meet Montana’s water quality standards. The Forest Service does not comment on active litigation.
The groups are requesting a judge order the Forest Service to reevaluate the potential harms.
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