This story was originally published by Daily Montanan:
URL: https://dailymontanan.com
This story has not been altered or edited.
(C) Daily Montanan. Licensed for re-distribution through Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
------------



DEQ pauses Zortman Landusky project, but mine owner may move forward with larger project – Daily Montanan

['Darrell Ehrlick', 'More From Author', '- February']

Date: 2022-02-04 00:00:00

On Thursday, the Montana Department of Environmental Quality announced that it would require a small mining operation to undergo more historical and environmental assessment before taking as much as a 125 tons of rock for metallurgic sampling.

The new requirement came after the nearby Fort Belknap Indian Community raised concerns about the site’s archaeological and spiritual significance, and that community was joined by support from the Fort Peck Indian Community as well as the Confederated Salish and Kootenai tribes.

However, the mine’s owner, Luke Ployhar, said that further analysis could easily cost upwards of $200,000, and the DEQ has already approved a permit for removing as many as 10,000 tons of rocks without such a study, so he will likely pursue the previously approved project even though it could be more disruptive than the smaller, limited 10-day project that now has more requirements.

The mining permits centers on private land that was previously part of the Pegasus gold mine that went bankrupt in Zortman Landusky in Phillips County. It was the site of extensive remediation after acid mine drainage caused environmental damage that led to nearly $30 million being spent during the course of two decades, with mining experts saying the contamination is likely permanent.

Two permits, same owner

Ployhar purchased the land after Pegasus went bankrupt, outbidding the nearby Fort Belknap Indian Community. For years, he’s held the land, but when a lapse in federal paperwork caused a mining moratorium to expire, he filed new claims on the site.

One of those claims was part of a larger, more extensive plan to remove more than 10,000 tons of rock for testing and exploration. That original project was approved by the DEQ, but hasn’t been completed because Ployhar has not yet submitted the bond to begin the work.

However, he later scaled back the project to only remove 125 tons of rock in a trench not much bigger than a house’s foundation (35 feet long, 10 feet wide by 25 feet deep). A draft environmental analysis performed by the DEQ didn’t raise any significant issues with the exploration late in 2021. During a contentious public meeting, though, tribal members and others spoke against the project, and the Fort Belknap Indian Community accused state officials of not consulting them and discounting the historical, archaeological and spiritual significance of the land.

In the final assessment, prepared after the meeting, the department said that after further consultation with the tribal officials, including the tribal historical preservation officer, it determined that more analysis was likely needed, and that cost would be borne by Ployhar if he wanted to complete the smaller project.

Ployhar told the Daily Montanan that the issue raises serious questions about private property rights, and said that a cultural and archaeological assessment has already been completed on the land prior to the Pegasus mine. He also said the tribe repeatedly asked Pegasus to develop mining on tribal lands so that it could reap the financial benefits of gold mining. He suspects the tribes are trying to stymie his plans so that they can capitalize on the proven gold reserves.

‘We must follow the law’

The DEQ defended its revised assessment, saying the changed outcome proves the public process works. In other words, the public input was incorporated to the final decision.

“Comments on the draft environmental assessment presented DEQ with conflicting evidence from credible and potentially expert sources,” the department said. “This evidence raises substantial questions regarding whether significant impacts could occur to historical, archaeological, social and cultural resources as a result of the proposed actions.”

Michael Black Wolf, the Fort Belknap Tribal Historic Preservation Officer, weighed in on the proposed project, as did cultural resource officers from Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes.

“Most, if not all, mountain tops/peaks are extremely important to the tribes (Gros Ventre and Assiniboine) both culturally and spiritually,” Black Wolf wrote. “I appeal to your fundamental humanity and ask that you respect the spirituality and cultural beliefs of the Gros Ventre and Assiniboine tribes and weigh the immeasurable and irreparable impacts this project will have on the people and landscape.”

The DEQ also sourced an ethnographic study of the Little Rocky Mountains that performed in conjunction with the state office of historic preservation.

“From the perspective of those that follow traditional ways, there is no clear-cut division between the physical characteristics of the environment and the spiritual characteristics of the environment,” the research said. “Tribal members usually do not believe that once an area is destroyed our disturbed, the culturally significant sites or areas within the disturbed or destroyed areas are diminished in value or importance. For the Nakoda (Assiniboine) and Aaniiih (Gros Ventre) the fact that the Zortman-Landusky mine disturbance exists does not diminish the spiritual importance of the Little Rocky Mountains, but rather emphasizes the need to continue to protect and heal this sacred space.”

DEQ Director Chris Dorrington signed the final environmental assessment, which will require further investigation if Ployhar and the mining were to move forward.

“This was the right decision for this site. DEQ received comments from three Tribal Historic Preservation officers, all of whom indicated potential serious impacts to cultural resources,” Dorrington said. “When public comments uncover substantive issues that were not addressed in our initial review, we must do our due diligence and follow the law.”

[END]

[1] Url: https://dailymontanan.com/2022/02/04/deq-pauses-zortman-landusky-project-but-mine-owner-may-move-forward-with-larger-project/

Content is licensed through Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/montanan/