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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has sent a letter and accompanying document to the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality criticizing an air quality permit issued to the proposed Stibnite gold mine. In the letter, EPA Region 10 Administrator Casey Sixkiller writes that the EPA "continues to be concerned that construction and operation of the Stibnite Gold Project under the terms set out in the Department’s Permit would not comply with the Clean Air Act." The letter points out several flaws in the analysis conducted and conclusions reached by the department when considering whether to issue the permit.
"For EPA to get involved, they really have to think this is a serious issue because at this point it is supposed to be a state process," said Julie Thrower, an attorney for Save the South Fork Salmon, which, along with the Nez Perce Tribe and the Idaho Conservation League, is contesting the permit. A hearing is scheduled for September 21st.
The Stibnite project was featured in a recent report from the Center for Western Priorities, Backyard Problems, which highlights sites across the West where mining companies as well as oil and gas producers have left toxic messes that have yet to be cleaned up, as well as sources of pollution that may never be fully eliminated. The report also argues, and the Stibnite air quality permit underscores, that environmental protection laws are only as good as their enforcement.
Digging into our 2023 Winning the West poll results
In the latest episode of the Center for Western Priorities podcast, The Landscape, Kate and Aaron are joined by pollster Lindsay Vermeyen, senior vice president at Benenson Strategy Group, and Center for Western Priorities Executive Director Jennifer Rokala to dig into the results of our 2023 Winning the West poll. Spoiler alert: Western voters really love public lands, and they want to see them protected. Kate and Aaron also recap some of the great public lands and conservation news that came out in August.
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All plugged wells face the risks of corrosion, degrading cement. They are all ticking time bombs.”
