Facing a legal battle with the Montana Department of Environmental Quality over alleged “bad actor” violations, Hecla Mining Company, which owns the Troy Mine, has put on hold portions of its remaining reclamation obligations at the shuttered copper-and-silver operation.
Hecla officials dispute reports stating all reclamation efforts are delayed while the company sorts out a legal dispute with the state Department of Environmental Quality, which alleges Hecla CEO Phillips S. Baker Jr. is responsible under Montana’s “bad actor law” for continued pollution at several mines owned by his former employer, Pegasus Mining.
In a letter submitted Aug. 2 to the Kootenai National Forest and the Montana Hard Rock Mining Bureau, Hecla officials outline a new schedule that “modifies some interim milestones,” while the “overall schedule remains unchanged.”
“While we are reducing some of our spending for the remainder of this year, we will continue to meet our legal requirements,” Hecla Spokesman Luke Russell stated in an email.
“We take our obligations seriously and we remain fully committed to the communities in Lincoln and Sanders counties and to fulfilling our requirements not only at Rock Creek and Montanore, but also at the former Troy Mine,” Doug Stiles, general manager at Troy Mine Inc., added in a statement. “The reclamation work at Troy will take many years and we remain on track. So far, we have invested over $6 million in reclamation work and have doubled the financial assurance post with the State of Montana.”
Over the past two years, the company has covered over 290 acres of the tailings facility in soil, reseeded roughly 140 acres and “will continue contract work to remove the mill building.”
Reclamation work — both the planning and actual work — is authorized under an operating permit. However, the state’s recent litigation calls into question the status of the state permits for the Troy, Rock Creek and Montanore mines, according to company officials.
Baker stands as the lone connection between Hecla and Pegasus, where he served as chief financial officers until the company’s 1998 bankruptcy.
The DEQ has stated that if a court finds Baker is in violation of the “bad actor” provision of Montana’s Metal Mine Reclamation Act, it could suspend Hecla’s permits for Rock Creek and Montanore mines.
Work at Troy has cost about $6 million and is expected to take another two to three years, Stiles said. The state holds a $24.7 million reclamation bond to ensure work at the site is completed.