The Daily Inter Lake

The Flathead County commissioners unanimously endorsed legislation Tuesday that would provide funding for Montana's ongoing engagement with British Columbia about potential coal mining in the headwaters of the North Fork Flathead River.

The vote follows a similar endorsement from the Lake County commissioners.

"We believe that this funding is imperative to safeguard the economic and environmental integrity of water quality and other natural resources," the commissioners said in their written endorsement of House Bill 189.

Sponsored by Rep. Doug Cordier, D-Columbia Falls, the bill would provide funding for continued studies to gather "baseline" data on environmental conditions in the North Fork on both sides of the border. It also would provide funding for state officials' travel to British Columbia for ongoing negotiations about resource development with potential impacts in Montana.

The legislation calls for a total of $308,477 to be distributed during the next biennium to the Flathead Basin Commission, the University of Montana's Yellow Bay Biological Station and the U.S. Geological Survey, the Governor's Office and other partners that have raised concerns about a coal-mine-development proposal in one the headwater tributaries to Canada's Flathead River.

Officials are convinced that the open-pit mining operation proposed by the Cline Mining Corp. would have impacts on transboundary fish and wildlife populations, as well as downstream impacts on water quality. But the state needs to quantify current conditions to demonstrate future impacts.

The BC provincial government is in the midst of a public comment period on draft "terms of reference" that will establish conditions the mining company must meet to develop a satisfactory environmental assessment for the project. The company is seeking a permit for a mine that would process 2 million tons of coal a year for at least 20 years.

Caryn Miske, executive director of the Flathead Basin Commission, told commissioners that the funding may be secured through more than one avenue in the Legislature.

As it stands, HB 189 was referred to the House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday, but some of the funding may come through the Legislature's general fund appropriation in House Bill 2.

The bill has bipartisan support, with co-sponsors including Sen. Greg Barkus, R-Kalispell, Rep. Bill Jones, R-Bigfork, Sen. Dan Weinberg, D-Whitefish and Sen. John Brueggeman, R- Polson.

The Flathead Basin Commission is holding meetings next week to encourage Montanans to comment on the province's draft terms of reference.

Gov. Brian Schweitzer and Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., are scheduled to attend a meeting from 9 a.m. to noon Monday, Jan. 15, at the Red Lion Hotel Kalispell. A second meeting will be held there from 7 to 9 p.m. Monday, and a meeting will be held from 7 to 10 p.m. Jan. 24 at the Doubletree Hotel in Missoula.

Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by e-mail at jmann@dailyinterlake.com