A new report from the Idaho Conservation League offers suggestions to mining companies on how to be good environmental stewards and reduce potential hurdles to approval.
The report is ICL’s first in about 20 years, according to Josh Johnson, the group's Central Idaho Director.
“Things haven't necessarily gotten better or worse, it's just different,” he said in a phone interview.
The report identifies 14 fully-permitted mining operations in Idaho; just over half are currently operating. Four others are awaiting permits, and about ten sites are being explored for potential mines. Hundreds to thousands of other mining sites are closed or abandoned - some remain problematic to the local environment today.
Idaho Conservation League has spoken out and sued to try and stop or slow down many mining operations in the state, but Johnson said the group is not against mining.
“I think we have a stronger position if we accept that we do need some mining, but we don't need to say yes to it everywhere and every time,” he said. “[But] there are always going to be some places that are really too special or too sensitive to mine, regardless of what's being mined.”
Better mining, according to the report, means better methods to control and contain potentially toxic water runoff and air pollution, as well as designing less intrusive projects to limit long-term or permanent damage to landscapes and wildlife habitat around a mining site.
“What we really want to do is be working on projects on a case by case basis,” Johnson said. That starts with conversations between mining companies and stakeholders.
“I think companies are starting to recognize the importance of doing that, and we are seeing more companies getting out on the front foot for that sort of thing more often."Josh Johnson
He acknowledges advancements have made mining more efficient and potentially less error prone, but said many industry promises of ‘better mining’ have yet to play out in the real world. Those advancements have also opened the door to mining where it might not have been possible before.
And the mining industry thrives under the General Mining Law of 1872, Johnson said. Environmental groups like ICL have and will continue to lobby to get that law updated to give regulatory agencies "more teeth" when reviewing proposed mining projects. But any legislative change is unlikely in the near future.
“The mining law constrains the federal agencies that are permitting these projects to some degree,” Johnson said. “But it doesn't it doesn't constrain the mining companies from going above and beyond those standards. So, a mining company, if they want to do things the right way, they can propose things or agree to things themselves that are beyond what the regulatory agencies can force upon them,” he said.
Mining companies that take that approach, Johnson noted, could find themselves with an easier and faster path to approval.
