An Associated Press article carried in the Wednesday, December 19, 2007 online edition of the Flathead Beacon . . .

The Canadian government has formally announced plans to study a proposed coal mine just north of Glacier National Park, mining that has raised concern in Montana about transboundary environmental harm.

A notice the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency published last week says Fisheries and Oceans Canada must ensure that a comprehensive study of the Lodgepole Coal Mine, proposed for southeastern British Columbia, takes place. Canada’s Cline Mining Corp. wants to develop an open-pit mine requiring roads, rock dumps, a coal washing plant, a power-line corridor, a mine camp and fuel storage.

Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer and others have expressed concern the mine would pollute water in the Flathead River system, which spans the British Columbia-Montana border. The Flathead’s North Fork forms the western boundary of Glacier Park, and Flathead water flows into Montana’s sprawling Flathead Lake. Critics of the mine say it threatens wildlife habitat, as well.

The mining proposal was before British Columbia regulators and will remain in their hands while also being examined at the federal level. Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., announced in April that Canada’s ambassador to the United States, Michael Wilson, confirmed the Cline project would be reviewed federally. The Bush administration challenged the coal project last winter.

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From the Tuesday, December 18, 2007 online edition of the Daily Inter Lake . . .

The Canadian federal government has announced that it will review a coal mine proposed in British Columbia

From the online edition of Oilweek Magazine . . .

People say that oil and water don

From the Wednesday, November 21, 2007 online edition of the Hungry Horse News . . .

It was a last-minute decision, and I

From the Wednesday, November 21, 2007 online edition of the Daily Inter Lake . . .

Potential industrial development in the Canadian Flathead drainage is gaining a higher profile in British Columbia, with possible environmental consequences that would counter international law, Canadian speakers said at a gathering Monday in Whitefish.

Richard Paisley, an international water law expert from the University of British Columbia, was among the speakers at an open house sponsored by the Flathead Coalition, a group of Montanans concerned about potential coal and gas development north of the border.

Paisley said there is a growing body of international law that supports the position that fish, wildlife and water resources in Montana

From an AFP article (including some very nice photos) posted on Monday, November 19, 2007 . . .

Two ambitious energy exploration projects in western Canada are raising fears among US environmentalists of irreversible ecological damage to a pristine expanse of the famed Rocky Mountains.

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From the Wednesday, November 7, 2007 online edition of The Globe and Mail . . .

Another skirmish is brewing in the continuing battle between British Columbia and Montana over potential resource development north of the border and its impact on rivers flowing into the United States.

Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer is now questioning the province’s commitment to prevent any coal-bed methane (CBM) projects from dumping wastewater from gas wells into drainages that eventually flow south to Montana.

At the same time, he is raising concerns about a phosphate exploratory drilling project in the same area, recently completed by privately held Paget Resources Corp. of Vancouver.

The more pressing issue, from Mr. Schweitzer’s perspective, is a CBM pilot project run by junior exploration company Storm Cat Energy Corp. of Denver. The company confirmed it has a permit from the B.C. government to discharge wastewater from its pilot project into Brit Creek, a tributary of the Elk River. The Elk River flows into Lake Koocanusa, which straddles the B.C.-Montana border.

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From the Saturday, November 3, 2007 online edition of the Daily Inter Lake . . .

Several Montana conservation groups are concerned about plans to expand a coal-bed methane operation with continued discharge of wastewater into an Elk River tributary.

And, a mining company was reportedly test drilling last month for phosphate deposits in the Cabin Creek area, a tributary to the North Fork Flathead River.

Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., said he recently learned that the company, which he did not identify, drilled test wells from Oct. 18 to 23, with permission from the provincial government.

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