9TH CIRCUIT STEPS INTO SMOKY CANYON SELENIUM BATTLE
Just when the fight to protect clean water and roadless country in southeast Idaho seemed lost, the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals stepped in with some good news on GYC’s lawsuit to prevent expansion of Simplot’s controversial Smoky Canyon phosphate mine:
The three-person 9th Circuit panel ordered a halt to expansion and sent the case back to federal magistrate judge Mikel Williams in Boise, chastising him for disregarding key evidence of certain environmental degradation brought by GYC and argued by EarthJustice.
Phosphate mining has caused so much selenium poisoning in southeast Idaho that there are 17 Superfund sites. More than 600 head of livestock have perished and up to 90 percent of the area’s already-struggling cutthroat trout populations are threatened.
The panel ruled that Williams failed to consider the impacts of road construction, soil removal and the loss of forest in the roadless pristine Sage Creek roadless area.
Now, regardless of how Williams rules on the case, it must be OK’d by the 9th Circuit.
In Williams’ defense, he didn’t have all the information — at least on selenium poisoning.
To get approval for expansion from the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management, Simplot had to promise to clean up the deadly toxins it was releasing in the Pole Canyon area. After all, given that selenium levels in area streams and springs already violated state and federal water-quality standards, Simplot couldn’t legally get the go-ahead without cleaning up its act first.
Once “cleanup” commenced, Simplot told Williams that water-quality standards had been met. Based partly on Simplot testimony, the judge ruled against an injunction filed by GYC and other conservation groups, who argued that the Forest Service and BLM violated several environmental laws in giving the OK to expand into the roadless area.
GYC filed a Freedom of Information Act to uncover what Simplot’s own reports showed about “cleanup.” Turns out that contamination had actually skyrocketed in two streams and springs at the Superfund site on the Idaho-Wyoming border.
Since the “cleanup” began, Pole Canyon Creek, Sage Creek and Hoopes Springs all tested much higher in selenium contamination. Pole Canyon Creek’s selenium concentrations were 1,000 times higher than Idaho’s water-quality standard. Contamination in Hoopes Springs has doubled since 2006 and is seven times greater than Idaho’s standard. And Sage Creek, which already exceeded the state standard, increased by 27 percent.
How many wildlife species in this remote country have been devastated after coming in contact with the pollution is anyone’s guess.
The court’s ruling assures that, at least for now, the hunting, fishing and outdoor-recreation legacy for which southeast Idaho’s roadless areas are renowned will be preserved — at least until the next go-round in court.
The annual Deer Creek trail project is in the planning mode. Make sure you clear the dates on your calendar. The dates are June 27 – 28. We will do trail maintenance work on the 27th and then find time to enjoy a potluck, camping, hiking, and fishing. This is a fun way to see roadless areas that could disappear with new mining projects and also do a good service.
Our campaign manager, John Hart has moved on to new professional opportunities in his career. John sends his ongoing support to all the dedicated members of the partnership and will still stay involved as a GYC member himself. His departure signals a transition to the Greater Yellowstone Coalition for all future updates and work on this important campaign.
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