Victory! Montana Supreme Court delivers historic ruling against unlawful gold exploration permits
Incredible news! Yesterday, on December 8, the Montana Supreme Court released its ruling on our case challenging the validity of a gold exploration permit just north of Yellowstone National Park. In a monumental victory for the Greater Yellowstone Coalition and our partners, the Court ruled – unanimously – that 2011 amendments made to the Montana Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) were unconstitutional.
The Yellowstone River in front of Emigrant Peak, near the proposed gold exploration site in Emigrant Gulch. (Photo Bill Campbell)
These amendments stripped the courts of their power to stop illegally permitted activities. Here, the amendments would have allowed Lucky Minerals’ exploration activities to occur on private land. (In 2019, the Yellowstone Gateway Protection Act stopped mining on public lands.) The Court’s decision affirmed an earlier ruling that prevented Lucky’s proposed drilling.
In the case, the Greater Yellowstone Coalition and Park County Environmental Council, represented by Earthjustice attorney Jenny Harbine, argued in favor of upholding a decision made by a Montana district court last year requiring the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to complete a full environmental analysis before allowing Canadian mining company Lucky Minerals to continue with gold exploration in mountains above Montana’s spectacular Paradise Valley.
We also challenged the constitutionality of the state legislature’s 2011 amendments to the Montana Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) that disallowed the DEQ from putting a stop to activities carried out under an unlawful permit. These amendments had created a baffling loophole that made it possible for mining companies to march forward with exploration using permits that had been rendered illegal by a court.
Lucky Minerals has their sights set on mining gold in Emigrant Gulch, just north of the border of Yellowstone National Park and within the watershed of the Yellowstone River. Yesterday’s momentous ruling not only protects this area by delivering a final fatal blow to Lucky Minerals’ illegally issued exploration permit, but will restore Montanans’ abilities to stop similarly illegally permitted mining operations hereafter.
An aerial view of the area near the proposed gold exploration site in Emigrant Gulch. (Photo Bill Campbell.)
Years in the making, this is a momentous win for GYC, our partners, and the people of Montana who know the Greater Yellowstone is more valuable than gold. By closing this loophole, the Court has substantially strengthened protections against irresponsible mining practices, and has affirmed that Montana laws enacted to protect places like Emigrant Gulch are a critical part of protecting our constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment.
The Backstory:
Our engagement with this case began in 2017, when the Greater Yellowstone Coalition and Park County Environmental Council, represented by Earthjustice, filed a lawsuit asking Montana’s DEQ to take a harder look at Lucky Minerals’ risky gold mining project, including water quality and wildlife habitat. The following May, District Court Judge Brenda Gilbert ruled in our favor, finding that DEQ did not fully consider the overall effect on the environment from Lucky Minerals’ plan. This decision declared their exploration license unlawful.
Close on the heels of this victory our lawyer filed another challenge in Montana district court, this time over the constitutionality of a series of 2011 amendments to the Montana Environmental Quality Act. This challenge sought to put teeth in the May 2018 victory that rendered the exploration license unlawful. Due to an illogical loophole created by the state legislature in 2011 via the aforementioned amendments, mining companies holding permits rendered invalid and illegal by the courts – such as the exploration permit held by Lucky Minerals as a result of our win – were still free to conduct exploration activities. This loophole meant that Lucky Minerals was free to use their invalid permit as though it was valid.
In April 2019, Park County District Court Judge Gilbert again sided with GYC, finding the loophole-creating amendments unconstitutional and rendering Lucky Mineral’s exploration permit officially – and functionally – void. Lucky Minerals then used their right to appeal to send the case to the Montana Supreme Court, where the buck stopped yesterday. If they want to pursue mining in Emigrant Gulch, they must start all the way back at square one with a new application, which will undergo a new round of scrutiny.
What’s Next:
With this huge and meaningful win under our belt, we are going to let ourselves take a couple deep breaths and do a little celebrating.... Then, we’ve got our sights firmly set on the upcoming Montana State Legislature to monitor for any new attempts to weaken our bedrock constitutional rights to a clean and healthful environment. Plus, additional gold mining and development proposals continue to threaten Yellowstone’s northern boundary and the surrounding wilderness. Fighting dirty gold mines is in our DNA here at GYC and we remain “all in” in our work toward ensuring a healthy and vital Greater Yellowstone.
-Joe Josephson, Senior Montana Conservation Associate
