Court: Montana minimizes impact of mining near Yellowstone
National Legal News
A gold exploration proposal near Yellowstone National Park faced a significant setback as a judge blamed Montana officials for understating the potential for mining to harm land, water and wildlife.
The ruling released Friday means the Montana Department of Environmental Quality would have to conduct a lengthy environmental review before Lucky Minerals can proceed.
The Vancouver, Canada, company received approval last year to begin searching for gold, copper and other minerals at 23 locations in Emigrant Gulch, a picturesque area of steep mountains and dense forest in south-central Montana's Paradise Valley. It has a long history of small-scale mining.
The results of the exploration work would guide the company's future plans for commercial-scale mining.
Environmental groups sued over the project last year on behalf of local residents, who are concerned mining could reduce tourism and pollute the nearby Yellowstone River.
State Judge Brenda R. Gilbert agreed with the environmentalists that state officials gave too much deference to the company in considering the project and ignored evidence that water supplies could be damaged.
The agency also should have looked more closely at the project's impacts on grizzly bears and wolverines and considered the broader implications if Lucky Minerals expands onto federal lands, Gilbert said.
Related listings
-
Court says Baltimore police could fire officer in force case
National Legal News 05/11/2018The Maryland Court of Special Appeals has ruled the Baltimore Police Department followed procedure when it fired an officer accused of excessive force. The Daily Record of Baltimore reports Serge Marcien Antonin was fired for repeatedly slapping a de...
-
Analysis: Voter ID Fight Testing Court as Much as New Law
National Legal News 05/06/2018The Arkansas Supreme Court's decision to allow the state to enforce its voter ID law in this month's primary while justices consider whether the measure is unconstitutional sets up a test over Republican lawmakers' efforts to reinstate a law struck d...
-
Supreme Court rejects anti-abortion pastor's appeal on noise
National Legal News 04/16/2018The Supreme Court won't hear an appeal from a pastor who challenged a state law's noise limit that was used to restrict his anti-abortion protest outside a Planned Parenthood clinic in Portland, Maine.The justices offered no comment Monday in rejecti...