Comments on the Draft Programmatic Environmental Assessment for Dryland Opencut Mining
What follows is PCEC’s public comment to the DEQ regarding the proposed changes to the Dryland Mining Lease and the Programmatic Environmental Assessment.
The Montana DEQ recently proposed a plan that would change how dryland mines are permitted across the state. This proposal moves away from individual site analysis in favor of a Programmatic Environmental Assessment—essentially a one-size-fits-all checklist for mines under 50 acres.
This moves away from the current requirement that the state must evaluate the specific impacts of every mine location before a permit is issued. Right now, the DEQ has to look at the geography, specific water sources, and unique wildlife of a site like Section 22. As a community surrounded by critical wildlife habitat, already stressed by development and climate pressure, we cannot afford the risk associated with an expedited process that replaces the site-specific local insights needed to make these decisions on public lands.
To: Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ)
Re: Comments on the Draft Programmatic Environmental Assessment for Dryland Opencut Mining
To whom it may concern,
Park County Environmental Council (PCEC) would like to thank the Montana Department of Environmental Quality for the opportunity to provide our comments on the Draft Programmatic Environmental Assessment for Dryland Opencut Mining (Programmatic EA).
PCEC serves as a local grassroots environmental group with more than 500 members and 2,300 supporters. We appreciate your time and consideration on this important matter. PCEC has worked to protect and preserve the vast natural resources of Park County, Montana, since 1990. We are a county-wide environmental group focusing on issues affecting Park County. PCEC works with residents to safeguard and advocate for the county's world-class rivers, diverse wildlife, landscapes, and outstanding natural beauty, while protecting the health and wellbeing of people who live and work here.
Initially formed by a small group of community members to advocate for wild places, wilderness and quality-of-life issues in Park County, PCEC has grown to cover numerous issues related to the Yellowstone River and its tributaries, public land management, land use and threats from development, while encouraging community engagement on these issues.
If we want to ensure that the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) continues to maintain its vital importance for wildlife, intact habitat, and ecological diversity for generations to come, as well as our reverence for wild places, we encourage the CGNF to manage the forest in a manner that can provide for protections that will make that a reality.
The GYE is home to some of the most vibrant, diverse and intact wildlands in the Lower 48. It is still home to all the major species of mammals that were present on this continent prior to the arrival of Europeans, having long provided refuge for elk, bison, wolverine and grizzly (and room for the return of the wolf). Its wildlife migration corridors are extensive and still mostly intact. All of this is possible because it contains habitat that remains largely unfragmented and preserved into the 21st century.
I. Erosion of the Constitutional Right to Participate
The transition to a Checklist Programmatic EA for future opencut mines significantly diminishes the Right of Participation granted to all Montanans in the State Constitution (Article II, Section 8). By adopting a generic programmatic analysis, DEQ basically removes the public’s ability to review and comment on the specific details of a mine before a permit is issued.
The requirement to notify neighbors only if more than 10 households exist within a half-mile radius is unsuited for rural Montana. This threshold excludes many of the landowners most directly impacted by industrial operations, leaving them without a voice in a process that directly affects their property values and quality of life.
II. Risks to Watershed Health and Water Quality
The Programmatic EA incorrectly assumes that dry mines, those situated 10 feet or more above groundwater, have no significant impact on water resources. The large-scale clearing of vegetation and topsoil on a 50-acre site creates substantial risks for sediment runoff; during storm events or spring snowmelt, this silt can enter our river systems, degrading water quality and damaging vital fish spawning habitats.
Because industrial mining operations involve the use of fuels and chemicals, the absence of site-specific surface-water management plans means these pollutants can be carried by runoff directly into the broader watershed. Beyond these surface impacts, the significant alterations to local topography inherent in opencut mining can disrupt natural recharge patterns, potentially compromising the reliability and health of neighboring domestic and agricultural wells that the community depends on.
III. Classification of Small Operations
Categorizing a 50-acre mine with a 25-year lifespan as a "small" operation is inconsistent with the reality of rural land use. For a small local community, a 50-acre industrial site is a major, long-term footprint. We are concerned that this Programmatic EA will allow developers to secure an initial permit and then repeatedly apply for amendments to expand the operation. This allows a project to grow in scale and duration without ever being subject to a comprehensive, site-specific Environmental Assessment.
IV. Failure to Address Site-Specific Impacts
A generic checklist is an insufficient tool for identifying the unique risks inherent to Montana’s diverse landscapes, as it fails to adequately address critical site-specific factors like wildlife corridors and biodiversity. Generalizations cannot account for the specific migratory paths or local nesting grounds that are essential to our region’s ecological health. Air quality and wind patterns vary significantly across the state; because particulate pollution behaves differently in the complex terrain of Montana’s canyons and valleys, a general permit approach fails to protect neighbors from localized dust and health hazards.
A programmatic analysis ignores the localized impacts on infrastructure and safety, as many rural roads are not engineered for the heavy industrial traffic associated with gravel operations, placing an undue maintenance burden and safety risk on local counties and residents.
V. Abdication of DEQ’s Roles and Responsibilities
DEQ is responsible for performing quality and timely environmental assessments for every open cut application in order to fulfill its mission to protect and maintain a clean and healthful environment for all Montanans. The Programmatic EA replaces rigorous, site-specific oversight with a "one-size-fits-all" model that fails to account for unique local risks.
By assuming all "dryland" mines under 50 acres have identical impacts, the DEQ is overlooking specific threats to soil, vegetation, and water quality. This approach will shift DEQ from a proactive protector to a reactive observer, potentially violating the agency's constitutional duty to ensure a clean and healthful environment (Article IX, Section I) through a detailed examination of cumulative damage.
We see this shift toward self-certification and streamlined approvals as a move to bypass public transparency and meaningful engagement. By moving the review process behind closed doors, the DEQ places the burden of proof on citizens to identify environmental hazards rather than conducting its own independent fact-finding. This leads to concerns that the agency is prioritizing administrative speed over its primary responsibility to monitor and mitigate the long-term effects of industrial activities and mining operations.
VI. Recomendations
PCEC recommends the following revisions to the Programmatic EA to ensure adequate and fair public participation, and a more thorough analysis by DEQ when reviewing dry land open cut permits.
Redefine “small mine” as 10 acres or less.
Limit the life span of a “small mine” to 20 years or less.
Prohibit all asphalt and concrete production on site if an open cut operation qualifies as a “small mine”.
Hours of operation will be limited between 9:00am-5:00pm, Monday through Friday if an open cut operation qualifies as a “small mine”.
Mandatory 30-day notice to all landowners within a 1 mile radius.
Mandatory site-specific hydrologic testing by a third party.
A hard cap on amendments to prevent the expansion of mines beyond a 10-acre footprint, and 20-year operation horizon.
VII. Conclusion
The Draft Programmatic Environmental Assessment represents a shift toward centralized, checklist-based permitting that overlooks the site-specific nuances of Montana’s environment. We urge DEQ to revise and strengthen the conditions of the permitting process, or withdraw this Programmatic Environmental Assessment, and maintain the requirement for robust, site-specific analysis and meaningful public notice for all opencut mining proposals.
Sincerely,
Max Hjortsberg
Managing Director