Group worried about mine's potential negative impact on fish

The Daily Inter Lake

The Northwest Power and Conservation Council on Wednesday unanimously endorsed a letter raising concerns about potential coal mining in British Columbia's Flathead drainage.

The letter, drafted by Montana's representatives on the council, was discussed at the council's meeting in Vancouver, Wash. It will be sent to the British Columbia's Environmental Assessment Office in Victoria.

"The Northwest Power and Conservation Council is deeply concerned about the potential of negative downriver impacts to fish, wildlife and overall water conditions in the Flathead and Columbia basins from the proposed Cline Mine just north of the Montana-British Columbia border on the North Fork of the Flathead River," according to the letter.

"The council extensively funds mitigation projects for critical species in the Flathead drainage, including bull trout and westslope cutthroat trout, which will be impacted by the proposed mine," it continues.

Bruce Measure, one of Montana's two representatives on the council, said there "was much discussion" about the matter, most of it focusing on how much the council has invested in improving fisheries and fishery habitat in the Flathead Basin.

With representatives from Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana, the council is charged with overseeing fish and wildlife programs aimed at mitigating habitat losses from federal hydropower projects throughout the Columbia Basin. The Bonneville Power Administration funds those programs with ratepayer revenue.

Brian Marotz, the fisheries mitigation manager for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, has estimated that $13.5 million has been spent on fisheries in the Flathead basin in just the past decade.

"That was the primary focus," Measure said about the council's discussion. "We talked not so much about dollars, but more in terms of the numbers of projects … that the BPA has either funded or supported in the Flathead Basin."

The Cline Mining Corp. is proposing an open-pit coal mine that would involve production of 2 million tons annually for 20 years above the headwaters of British Columbia's Flathead River.

The provincial government is developing terms and conditions that the mining company must meet in developing an environmental assessment for the project. Montana officials consider a draft version of those terms to be inadequate. The council has taken a similar position.

"The council is concerned that the information currently gathered is insufficient to accurately determine the impacts of the proposed Cline mine on fish, wildlife and other resources of the Flathead and beyond," according to the letter, adding that that the provincial government should "significantly broaden" its inquiries into potential impacts from the proposed mine.

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