State of Montana Newsroom
DEQ Accepting Comment on Montana Tunnels Mining, Inc.
HELENA—The Montana Department of Environmental Quality is accepting public comment on a draft Environmental Assessment for a revision to the Montana Tunnels Mining, Inc. (MTMI) reclamation plan. The facility is located approximately 25 miles south of Helena near Jefferson City, Mont. and the company mined gold, silver, lead and zinc. The MTMI facility has not operated since December 2008 and the permit was suspended on June 5, 2018.
DEQ is proposing to modify the reclamation plan to address repair and restoration needs for Clancy Creek. Pit wall stability issues began impacting Clancy Creek in approximately 2013. As a result, MTMI elected to temporarily use a plastic pipe to convey the flow of Clancy Creek past the pit wall. The revised reclamation plan is meant to address the long-term restoration of the impacted section of Clancy Creek near the facility’s pit.
DEQ prepared a draft Environmental Assessment to analyze potential impacts from the proposed project. The public is invited to submit comments until the end of business on April 6, 2020. Written comments can be submitted to: deqmepa@mt.gov or mailed to Montana DEQ, Hard Rock Mining Bureau, c/o Dan Walsh, 1520 E. 6th Ave., Helena, MT 59601.
Interested parties can view the draft Environmental Assessment for the operating permit No. 00113 online at: http://deq.mt.gov/Public/ea/hardrock