From the Wednesday, March 14, 2007 online edition of the Daily Inter Lake . . .
Although his original approach didn
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Baucus Wants Investigation Into Canada Mine Plan
Text of a March 13, 2007 press release from the office of Senator Max Baucus . . .
BAUCUS WANTS INVESTIGATION INTO CANADA MINE PLAN
Senator Asks Secretary Of State Rice To Convene International Panel
March 13, 2007
(Washington, D.C.) – Montana Senator Max Baucus today called on Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to initiate an investigation into the potential environmental consequences of a proposed coal mine in British Columbia, near Glacier National Park.
Baucus has been the leading opponent of the Cline Mining Company’s proposal to mine coal on the headwaters of the North Fork Flathead River, which runs into Montana’s Flathead Lake. He says there could be devastating consequences to Montana’s fish, wildlife, and the recreation industry in the Flathead with “zero economic benefits or jobs for Montanans.”
“Glacier National Park, the Flathead River system and the clean, clear waters of Flathead Lake serve as the backbone of the economy of northwestern Montana,” Baucus wrote in a letter to Rice today. “This [mine] represents a renewed threat of degradation and destruction of social, environmental, and economic assets that are important to Montana.
“In the face of this threat,” Baucus continued, “I strongly encourage you to request a hearing by the International Joint Commission on the current mining proposal. It is of the utmost importance to Montana’s outdoor heritage, and our nation’s environmental legacy, to stop this mine and protect the Flathead River basin.”
Continue reading Baucus Wants Investigation Into Canada Mine Plan
Flathead River makes most endangered list
From the Monday, March 12, 2007 online edition of the Vancouver Sun . . .
A wild and unprotected river considered at risk from coal mining in southeastern B.C. heads the 120,000-member Outdoor Recreation Council’s annual list of the top 10 most endangered rivers in the province.
The Flathead River flows through the “largest unsettled low-elevation valley” in southern Canada containing important fish and wildlife values, including perhaps the largest concentration of inland grizzly bears in North America, the council said in releasing its annual survey today.
“Some places are not appropriate to mine, and the Flathead is one of them,” Mark Angelo, an Order of Canada recipient and chairman of the council’s rivers committee, said in an interview.
Read the entire article . . .
Bush administration opposes border mine
From the Associated Press, posted late Saturday, March 10, 2007 . . .
The Bush administration is challenging a coal mine proposed in British Columbia, saying it poses an environmental threat that could extend south of the border.
The mine that Cline Mining Co. proposed just north of Glacier National Park could cause “significant adverse environmental effects” the United States, the U.S. State Department said in a letter to the British Columbia government.
Montana officials say the open-pit mine would jeopardize water quality in the Flathead area, which includes Flathead Lake and other waters popular for recreation. The Flathead River system spans the international border, and the north fork of the river is Glacier’s western boundary.
The Flathead basin is “an area of unique and internationally recognized environmental importance,” Edward Alex Lee, Canadian affairs director in the State Department, said in the Feb. 23 letter.
Kate Thompson, spokeswoman for the British Columbia Ministry of Environment, did not comment Saturday. Thompson said she intended to discuss the letter with Garry Alexander, the official to whom it was addressed.
Phone messages left for Cline were not returned Saturday.
Read the entire article . . .
U.S. Objects to Proposed Canadian Coal Mine
From the Friday, March 9, 2007 online edition of the Washington Post . . .
The Bush administration has objected to a proposed open-pit coal mine in Canada near the Montana border, citing the potential for irreversible environmental damage to Glacier National Park, pristine trout streams and the largest natural lake in the West.
The objection — in a Feb. 23 letter from the State Department to the provincial government of British Columbia — comes after nearly six years of demands from elected officials in Montana for federal action to stop the mine.
The State Department letter has not been made public, but news of its existence was greeted on Friday as a significant breakthrough in an environmental quarrel that has created bad blood between British Columbia and Montana.
Read the entire article . . .
Catching up: B.C. bans surface water discharge from coalbed methane wells
Premier Gordon Campbell announced on February 14 that B.C. would not allow surface water discharge from coalbed methane operations in the province. Reaction in the press was muted. The Flathead Coalition was very pleased.
British Columbia Turnaround On Coalbed Methane Waste Water Commended By Transboundary Conservation Alliance
Premier Gordon Campbell
Catching up: Montana legislature asked to fund Flathead River water quality study
The potential mining activity on the Canadian Flathead has made it very important to conduct serious water quality monitoring and study in the watershed. Efforts to fund this through the Montana legislature began in mid-February.
U.S. opponents of B.C. mine call for water study
Residents of Montana opposed to plans for a coal mine in B.C. have asked the state to fund a study of the current water quality in the Flathead River, which flows from Canada into the U.S.
That way, they say, if the mine were built in the now-pristine valley just across the border in southeastern B.C., they would be able to measure any subsequent pollution on their side of the border.
State Senator Greg Barkus, who supports spending the $300,000 requested by a state agency for the study, said Montana needs a thorough analysis now, so they could prove the mine was polluting the river later.
Read the entire article . . .
North Fork funds debated in Legislature
The North Fork of the Flathead River runs clean and cold out of Canada, and a Columbia Falls legislator hopes to keep it that way.
Worried about the impact of a proposed open-pit coal mine just miles north of the British Columbia-Montana border, Rep. Doug Cordier wants the state to pay for serious studies of the area’s water quality.
The data would be used to support Montana’s argument that the Ontario-based Cline Mining Corporation’s proposed two-mile open pit coal mine 25 miles northwest of Glacier National Park threatens the purity of the North Fork of the Flathead and Flathead Lake.
Read the entire article . . .
Catching up: BC mining minister forced to resign
On February 6, Bill Bennett, British Columbia’s mining minister, was forced to resign. Here’s a sampling of the coverage.
Anti-U.S. comments lead Canadian mining official to resign
British Columbia’s top mining minister stepped down this week amid outrage at his anti-American sentiments, and Montanans who have been negotiating with the province over controversial coal projects were not sorry to see him go.
DISASTER RECOVERY!
Sometime in mid-February our Movable Type database got damaged, preventing us from posting new material. Unfortunately, this occurred when your friendly site manager was overburdened by high-priority projects. After spending a great deal of time this weekend trying to straighten this out, I finally threw up my hands and reset the web log.
So, as you can see, we are (re)starting with a clean slate.
I did manage to preserve the old content. Material posted prior to February 2007 can be found here.