The Montana Supreme Court ruled that a mining company could resume work after environmental groups fought to invalidate its permits.
The Black Butte Copper Mine has plans to create an underground copper mine near White Sulpher Springs by Sheep Creek. However, concerns about the impact on the local watershed led to a roughly four-year delay.
Environmental groups initially challenged the mine’s operating permits in 2020, arguing that the Montana Department of Environmental Quality conducted insufficient research.
On Feb. 26, the state Supreme Court sided with the mine and ruled that the DEQ had not erred when issuing the permits.
“After carefully reviewing the record, we are satisfied that DEQ made a reasoned decision,” wrote Supreme Court Justice Beth Baker for the majority opinion. “Compiling an extensive record of scientific studies, expert examinations, engineering reports, testing, and comparison with other mining facilities around the world, and after considering a wide range of comments from members of the public, including the Appellees, DEQ made a scientifically driven permitting decision that was supported by substantial evidence.”
District Court Judge Katherine Bidegaray had previously ruled in favor of the environmental groups in 2023.
The mine spans just over 1,880 acres. Experts expect that 14.5 million tons of copper-enriched rock will be extracted from the underground mine over 13 years while creating an estimated 12.9 million tons of acid-generating waste.
The Black Butte Copper Mine was proposed by Tintina Montana, which applied to build and operate the facility in 2015. The project was subject to two public comment periods and seven pubic hearings in addition to the DEQ review. Tintina has since become Sandfire Resources.
“Today’s victory in the Montana Supreme Court is a validation of the thoughtful and deliberate efforts of the Sandfire America team to design a world-class, environmentally safe mining project from the beginning,” the company’s CEO Lincoln Greenidge said in a statement, per the Billings Gazette.
Two members of the court, Justices Ingrid Gustafson and Laurie McKinnon, offered the dissenting opinion. They argued that “the right to a clean and healthful environment” is considered unalienable under the Montana Constitution.
“DEQ failed to take an initial hard look at whether either of these two options would be a sufficient alternative on the basis that neither would have a net environmental benefit,” the justices wrote. “Ultimately, DEQ did not take the required hard look into the safety and stability of the tailings [storage], the IRP review process, and the nitrogen discharges into Sheep Creek.”
Earthjustice, an environmental advocacy group involved in the litigation, mourned the Supreme Court’s decision.
“Today’s decision is a setback in the fight to protect Montana’s beloved Smith River, but we remain committed to protecting the river and all who depend on it,” said Jenny Harbine, an Earthjustice attorney, in a statement. “Our challenge to the mine’s dewatering scheme is pending before the Montana Supreme Court and presents another opportunity to defend the integrity of this watershed.”
David Brooks, the executive director of Montana Trout Unlimited, vowed to keep fighting to protect the watershed.
“This marks another sad example of Montana’s lenient mining and permitting laws allowing for the development of a large-scale, high-risk mine to be built without proper regard for the other values of a place, including its water quality, quantity, fishery, wildlife, recreational opportunities, and cultural heritage,” he said.
