Jan. 24—Kootenai National Forest officials are seeking public comment on the agency’s draft environmental assessment for the Libby Exploration Project at the Montanore Mine.
The draft analyzes the effects of the proposed activities in the Plan of Operation submitted by Montanore Minerals, a subsidiary of Hecla Mining, for the Libby Project.
Hecla acquired the Montanore project near Libby in 2016.
Montanore Minerals wants to conduct mineral exploration activities, primarily for copper and silver, at the existing Libby Adit site located about 20 miles south of Libby near the Cabinet Mountains of northwestern Montana.
All proposed activity in the Libby Adit would occur approximately 1,800 to 3,000 feet beneath Kootenai National Forest land, depending on surface topography.
Construction of about 14,000 feet of the Libby Adit, or tunnel, occurred between 1989 and 1991. In 2009, Montanore Minerals conducted rehabilitation work on approximately half of the decline, which included dewatering and installation of ground support, utilities and ventilation fans. Most of the facilities within the project area were installed during the initial 1989 to 1991 work on the adit and/or the 2009 rehabilitation program.
Montanore Minerals estimates the project lasting 16 years, including post-reclamation monitoring. It would consist of two years of dewatering and rehabilitation of approximately 7,000 feet of the existing Libby Adit.
Following dewatering, the construction and exploration phase would last up to six years and include extension of the Libby Adit by approximately 4,200 feet and construction of lateral drifts to conduct exploration activities.
Montanore officials predict they would employ six to 10 people at the project area during the dewatering and rehabilitation phase. During the exploration and reclamation phases, lasting about eight years, it believes it would hire 30 to 35 people.
Lincoln County’s unemployment rate was 5 percent in November 2024, according to state Department of Labor and Industry figures.
In 2024, Hecla said it planned to increase exploration in the Cabinet Mountains after a lawsuit against it was dismissed when CEO Phillips Baker Jr. retired. According to reporting by the Daily Montanan, DEQ filed a “bad actor” enforcement action against Hecla and Baker in 2018.
A coalition of Indian tribes and environmental groups, led by Earthjustice, sued Montana DEQ in 2021 alleging the state agency wasn’t enforcing the state’s “bad actor” provision in relation to Baker.
The law prevented corporations with outstanding obligations to pay for cleanup work from beginning new projects.
Baker was one of the former leaders of Pegasus Gold Incorporated, which filed for bankruptcy in 1998, leaving behind more than $80 million in reclamation and water treatment obligations, the groups alleged.
The Kootenai National Forest will accept written and electronic comments concerning this action for 30 calendar days following the publication of this notice in the Missoulian, which is the newspaper of record.
The publication date in the newspaper of record is the exclusive means for calculating the comment period for this analysis. The Legal Notice for opportunity to comment was posted in the Missoulian on Jan. 21.
Those wishing to comment should not rely upon dates or timeframe information provided by any other source. The regulations prohibit extending the length of the comment period. There are three ways to submit written comments to Kootenai National Forest Supervisor Chad Benson:
— Electronically at https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=62833 on the right-hand side, click “get Connected”, then “Comment on Project.” The subject line must contain “Libby Exploration Project”;
— Hand deliver or mail hard-copy comments to the Kootenai National Forest, Attn: Chad Benson, 31374 US Highway 2, Libby, MT 59923-3022. The office business hours for submitting hand-delivered comments are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding holidays.
— Fax comments to (406) 283-7709.
Those making comments are asked to include their name, postal address, title of the project “Libby Exploration Project”, email address, telephone number, any organization they may be representing and signature. Individual members of an entity must submit their own individual comments in order to have eligibility to object as an individual. It is the responsibility of the sender to ensure timely receipt of any comments submitted. All comments will be placed in the project file and become public record.
This project is not authorized under the Healthy Forests Restoration Act and therefore, is subject to the Pre-decisional Administrative Review Process under 36 CFR 218 Subparts (A) and (B).
It is the responsibility of persons providing comments to submit them by the close of the comment period. Only those who submit timely and specific written comments regarding the proposed Project during a public comment period established by the responsible official are eligible to file an objection under 36 CFR 218.
If you have any questions concerning this proposal, please contact Julie Hopkinson, Project Leader, at 406-283-7657 or julie.hopkinson@usda.gov.