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ZORTMAN/LANDUSKY ROD ANNOUNCEMENT
Backgrounder
The Zortman/Landusky Mines' bonds are sufficient
to complete the reclamation and water treatment requirements approved
by state and federal governments in 1997. Any shortfall in bonding
is the result of 1) new, more costly, alternatives added to the
plan in this Record of Decision (ROD) and, 2) the possible impact
of the configuration of the mine in 1998 vs. its projected configuration
at closure. (Reclamation costs and bonds were determined,
at that time, on the basis of surface disturbance at closure.)
- The Zortman Mine has posted bonds sufficient to cover the costs
of reclamation that, "meet the basic purpose and need to reclaim
the mines with a reasonable assurance for long-term success in
meeting the State and Federal requirements for mine reclamation,
while protecting human health, the environment and trust resources,"
according to the Bureau of Land Mangement and the State of Montana
in the Environmental Impact Statement accompanying the Record
of Decision (ROD). Reclamation already is complete at the Landusky
mine.
- The alternative plan that is designated as "preferred" by the
agencies in the ROD is more expensive to implement, particularly
because it addresses a number of aesthetic considerations, such
as the height of pit walls, etc. and will be implemented over
a shorter time frame.
- Recent revisions to the Bureau of Land Management's Section
3809 regulations require that reclamation bonds are based on the
maximum surface disturbance, regardless of whether it occurs at
the end of mining or at some point during the mine's life. These
revisions were supported by NMA and others. If the actual configuration
of the mine in 1998 contributed to the additional projected costs
of reclamation, the revisions to Section 3809 ensure that circumstance
will never occur again.
Background
- When Pegagus, the parent company of Zortman/Landusky, filed
for bankruptcy protection in 1997, BLM and the Montana Department
of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) determined the reclamation and
environmental bonds were sufficient to complete the approved reclamation
plan.
- Those bonds included more than $35 million for reclamation and
an additional $30 million for construction, operation and maintenance
of the water treatment systems.
- Of that amount, more than $51 million remains unspent. (The
company continued to maintain the site during bankruptcy proceedings
and provided the state with an additional $1.5 million for site
maintenance. The site currently is maintained by a contractor
to the MDEQ.)
- Three separate health assessments conducted by the Federal Agency
for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) in 1992, 1993
and 1998 found "no mine-related water quality impacts in the data
from the public water supply and domestic well sampling" at the
adjacent Fort Belknap Reservation.
History
- Since 1979, BLM and the State of Montana have approved several
expansions or modifications to the mines' operating permits and
bonding requirements.
- In January 1998, Pegasus filed for bankruptcy protection and
in April announced it was canceling all plans for future mining
at Zortman/Landusky.
- Pegasus later reorganized under federal court supervision, and
two spinoffs emerged; Apollo Gold, which was created by the courts
out of the Pegasus assets judged to be "performing" in order to
pay creditors, and Reclamation Services Corp, which was created
to handle the reclamation at Zortman/Landusky.
- The June 1998 BLM and the State of Montana issued a new record
of decision for reclamation of the Zortman property. That decision
was appealed by environmental groups and the Fort Belknap Tribes.
The Interior Board of Land Appeals (IBLA) agreed with that appeal
and told BLM that a new reclamation plan would not be approved
without further environmental analysis and consultation with the
Tribes. In response to the IBLA decision, BLM completed a new
environmental impact statement and issued the new ROD.
- The Assiniboine and Gros Ventre Tribes at the Fort Belknap Reservation
raised no objection to the mine when it was constructed and began
operating in the early 1980s. In 1991, after the mine had been
operating for nearly 20 years, the Tribes raised their concerns
about cultural impacts for the first time in an appeal of a mine
expansion permit. The Interior Board of Land appeals found no
merit to that claim.
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