It was a packed house at an open meeting at the Ravalli County Fairgrounds as County Commissioners took testimony on the proposed Sheep Creek Mine, south of Darby.
U.S. Critical Materials, the owner of the Sheep Creek mining claims, tried to assure the assembled multitude that the mine at the headwaters of the Bitterroot River “will not be an open-pit mine.” The mine, he said, would have a footprint of less than 5-acres, although the claim includes more than 4,500-acres–about 7-square miles. They intend to use underground mining to minimize surface disturbance along with a “closed loop” waster system with “zero discharge.”
Area residents weren’t impressed, especially when they learned that the Federal Permitting Council has put the mine on the “FAST-41” list of projects for federal review and permitting. Residents expressed concerns about the lack of a local office along with no regular briefings and no full-date release. Others pointed out other mining disasters that were left for taxpayers to clean up.
Ravalli residents from Missoula to Darby pushed the commissioners to oppose the mine. Their concerns for water pollution go beyond the Bitterroot, which flows into the Clark Fork and from there, to the Columbia River and eventually into the Pacific Ocean.
The upshot of the public meeting results in a terse letter from the County Commissioners to Gov. Greg Gianforte and the state’s Congressional delegation. Both Sen. Tim Sheey and Congressman Ryan Zinke oppose the fast-tracking idea, although they support “Montana’s resource economy and the mining industry.” As for the mine itself, neither the Governor nor our Congressional delegation has expressed opposition. D-E-Q says it doesn’t have an application for a permit for the Sheep Creek Mine, but when it does, it’ll be evaluated in accordance with the State’s Clean Water Act and the Metal Mine Reclamation Act.
