Montana judge halts the building of megaload turnouts in Western Montana

Another roadblock to the use of Idaho Highway 12 and Montana highways as corridors for moving Alberta bound tar sand equipment-

This is good news, although likely temporary.

The turnouts constructed on the Montana side of Lolo Pass appear to be larger than the oil giant said and closer to Lolo Creek which already suffers from highway runoff.

Judge stops construction of big-rig turnouts in western Montana.  By Kim Briggeman of the Missoulian

Otter makes headlines, but Simpson get things done

This is about Idaho drinking water and also how Idaho’s Representative Simpson is the one who really gets things done-

I thought it was kind of funny because I read it while I was waiting for my new Brita water filter to soak 15 minutes.  They say Brita removes arsenic 😉

Editorial: Otter makes headlines, but Simpson get things done. Magic Valley Times-News. It seems Simpson weakened the arsenic rules for public water systems in towns smaller than 10,000 nationwide.

Idaho Legislature sides with polluters on ground water

Mines and land developers can breathe a sigh of relief-

ID lawmakers side with industry on water rules. By Sarah D. Wire. Associated Press Writer.

The fix was in before the legislature met on the ground water rules, the gift to Idaho Association of Realtors was more of surprise. They argued that meeting water quality goals would hurt construction during the recession/depression.

I guess building sub-standard houses is a way to heal the sick economy in the legislatures’s view of things.

Gold pit mine planned at Elk City, Idaho. Alert

Elk City is a very remote small town in north central, Idaho. It is 40 miles up the South Fork of the Clearwater River Canyon from Grangeville (no facilities between them). Despite its remote location, the local streams were badly damaged by placer mining years ago.

Mining companies don’t placer mine much any more. They have moved to pit mines and cyanide heap leaching.

RM

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A Canadian mining company is proposing an open-pit cyanide heap leach mine in the headwaters of the South Fork of the Clearwater River. The Buffalo Gulch mine would be on Bureau of Land Management land just west of Elk City.

The Canadian mining company is using a flawed mine plan from the 1980s. Every major open-pit cyanide leach mine in Montana that used this same design ended up contaminating water supplies with cyanide or other toxins.

Main Points

• This project is a threat to one of Idaho’s most precious resources: clean drinking water.
• The mine would be only a few hundred feet from local drinking water wells and tributaries to the South Fork of the Clearwater River, an important salmon and steelhead stream.
• If cyanide or diesel fuel were to leak into a stream or spill in a truck accident along the river, it could have devastating impacts on clean water and fisheries. The Bureau of Land Management must address transportation of hazardous chemicals.
• The mining company must update its outdated mine plan in response to recent accidents at other mines.