From the Sunday, April 23, 2006 online edition of the Missoulian . . .
A second coal mining project has been granted permission to begin digging and drilling north of Glacier National Park, increasing concerns among downstream communities that Canadian energy exploration could taint one of Montana's wildest corners.
“We were told not to worry,” said Rich Moy, “that it's no big deal.”
Moy is chief of the state's Water Management Bureau and chairs the Flathead Basin Commission. At a recent commission meeting, he said, British Columbia officials announced they had granted an exploratory permit for the Lillyburt coal field.
“It's quite minimal,” said Kathy Eichenberger, provincial liaison to the commission. The permit is good from July through October, she said, and allows the mining company to drill 13 holes, removing an unspecified amount of coal for further testing.
[...]
Several companies are active throughout the Canadian Flathead; closest to Glacier Park, Eastfield Resources holds a gold mining exploratory permit for lands about six miles north of the border, and the company has plans for drilling, trenching and sampling.
About 10 miles farther north, seismic crews have been testing for oil and gas. Still north of there is the Cline mine site at Foisey Creek.
And just east of Foisey Creek is the Lillyburt coal field, down low on the valley floor, the spot where Moose Mountain Member Corp. now has a license to explore.
“That particular one is completely ludicrous, because it's right in the floodplain of the river,” said Jack Stanford, a research scientist who for years has studied and monitored lake and river waters in Montana's Flathead Valley. He also is among those charged with reviewing Cline's mining permit request.
“I just don't get it,” he said of the Lillyburt exploration. “We're wasting our time if we're going to evaluate sites like that. It's ridiculous.”
But perhaps not so ridiculous to those in British Columbia who see vast economic potential in the Flathead's undeveloped energy reserves.
Read the entire article . . .
From the Friday, April 21, 2006 online edition of the Missoulian . . .
A Montana board established to monitor and protect water quality in the Flathead Basin, which spans the state's border with British Columbia, is preparing to hire an executive director.
The Flathead Basin Commission has advertised the new position statewide and distributed notices to water-research centers throughout the country.
For several years the commission has been interested in hiring an executive, Chairman Rich Moy said Friday. He confirmed the need has heightened as the commission increasingly examines potential coal projects in southeastern British Columbia. Some worry industrial development there would harm water in the transboundary Flathead River system.
Read the entire article . . .
From a Friday, April 21, 2006 posting to Canada.com . . .
Montana state environmental and wildlife agencies have sent an 18-page letter to British Columbia officials listing concerns about a proposed coal mine north of Glacier National Park.
"It's page after page of concerns," said Hal Harper, chief policy adviser for Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer. "It's quite extensive and specific."
In recent years, Canadian officials have declined to give Cline Mining Co. a mining permit in the disputed area but the company has applied for another one.
Cline wants to remove a mountain of dirt overlying the Foisey Creek coal deposit, a plan being evaluated by B.C.'s environmental assessment office.
Among the top concerns is that the timeline set forth by the Toronto-based Cline "does not adequately allow for a comprehensive environmental review," Harper said.
Read the entire article . . .
In an April 13 email, Steve Thompson, Glacier Program Manager for the National Parks Conservation Association and Secretary of the Flathead Coalition, passed along the following information on developments affecting the Canadian Flathead drainage.
Shell Canada has notified us that it is abandoning its coalbed methane exploration program in the Elk Valley, just north of the Flathead in the Crowsnest Coalfield. Shell had indicated that the future of its CBM drilling plans in the Flathead and Elk Valley hinged on results from several exploratory wells near Sparwood... Reasons include low coal permeability and the costs of drilling...
Although no recent test wells have been drilled in the Flathead, we have reason to hope that the coal permeability conditions are similar to what Shell encountered near Sparwood, as both are within the Crowsnest Coalfield. However, it's also possible that permeability conditions vary within this massive underground coalfield. At this time, we have no reason to believe that any CBM development in the Crowsnest Coalfield is on the horizon. We'll let you know as more info becomes available.
Meanwhile, Cline's proposed mountain-top removal coal mine in the headwaters of the Flathead is moving forward at a brisk schedule. Montana's delegation to the Cline working group, including about a dozen state, federal, and Salish-Kootenai representatives, have submitted extensive comments on Cline's flawed mining proposal and environmental terms of reference. The Flathead Coalition's next course of action should be determined following BC's response to these comments, as well as those of Canadian federal agencies and local residents, hunting groups and outfitters in southeastern BC.