Canadians eyeing another coal mine prospect in Flathead
Hungry Horse News
The Cline Mining Corp. earlier this month announced it was planning on spending about $1.8 million in mine exploration near a tributary of the Canadian Flathead.
The announcement immediately raised eyebrows here in the states. Cline announced last year it wanted to develop a coal mine about 15 miles north of Glacier National Park. That plan was shot down. Now Cline is looking at a mine in the Foisey Creek drainage, which runs into the Flathead.
That brought plenty of concern here in the states among a broad-base of constituents who believe a coal mine in the drainage could do harm to the North Fork of the Flathead. The Canadian Flathead becomes the North Fork of the Flathead once it crosses the border. In Montana, it is afforded a host of protections, including being classified as a Wild and Scenic River, and it also makes up the bulk of Glacier National Park's western boundary.
In fact, the middle of the river is the park boundary.
American interests just learned of the mine prospect this week. The Canadian government apparently OK'd the exploration back in November, said Steve Thompson, secretary of the Flathead Coalition, a group that has been keeping its eye on Canadian mining activity in the Flathead and the Elk River drainages, both of which are protected under international treaties. The Canadians are also eyeing even larger coal fields that straddle both the Flathead and Kootenai River drainages.
Thompson said the Flathead Coalition has been pushing for a baseline study of the watershed by both governments.
"We're seeing a flurry of coal field development schemes in the Canadian Flathead," said Flathead Coalition president Richard Kuhl. "The U.S. and Canadian governments need to get together and conduct a comprehensive baseline assessment so we can begin to analyze the potential impacts of these various energy developments. Otherwise, we'll be dealing with this recurring issue on a piecemeal basis for decades to come. We need to break this cycle."
State Sen. Dan Weinberg recently introduced legislation that would ask the two governments to do just that. That bill has made it through the Senate and is now being considered by the House.
The U.S. has been battling with Canada on coal mining in the Flathead for decades.