Comments - Fording River Mine Extension

To whom it may concern:

I am writing on behalf of the Idaho Conservation League (ICL) to provide input regarding the permitting process for the Fording River Extension Project. ICL has participated extensively in public processes related to selenium pollution in the transboundary Kootenai watershed, and now urge the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC), and the Environmental Assessment Office of British Columbia (EAO), to pause the permitting process for the Fording River Extension Project until the conditions outlined below have been met.

Founded in 1973, the mission of ICL is to create a conservation community and pragmatic, enduring solutions that restore and protect the air you breathe, the water you drink, and the land and wildlife you love. ICL’s seven strategic initiatives include confronting climate change, recovering Idaho’s wild salmon and steelhead, cleaning up the Snake River, protecting public land, restoring abundance and diversity of Idaho’s wildlife, safeguarding North Idaho lakes and waters, and reducing pollution. ICL achieves these goals through public outreach and professional advocacy. With offices in Boise, McCall, Ketchum, and Sandpoint, the organization is a consistent, statewide voice for conservation in Idaho and represents more than 30,000 members and supporters. ICL’s members and supporters care deeply about restoring and protecting the environment. 

On behalf of these members and supporters, we ask that you pause the permitting process for the Fording River Extension Project until the following conditions are met:

Selenium limits are met at the international border
Selenium levels in the water flowing from the Elk Valley into Lake Koocanusa have and continue to exceed the U.S. Clean Water Act water quality standard. Lake Koocanusa’s water quality standard for selenium is 0.8 µg/L at the international border. That standard was developed specifically to protect fish and aquatic ecosystems, and meeting that standard at the border would benefit fisheries and people in both countries. Downstream communities and fisheries should not bear additional risk while existing pollution problems remain unresolved.  Please require that this standard be consistently met before moving forward with the permitting process the Fording River Extension Project.

The International Joint Commission completes its work
There’s a long history of cooperation between Canada and the United States in protecting shared waters. Under the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909, the International Joint Commission (IJC) is currently working to develop recommendations to address the mining pollution in the Elk–Kootenai watershed, a critical step toward durable solutions that incorporate both western science and indigenous knowledge. Please immediately stop the permitting process for the Fording River Extension Project until the IJC has completed its work and its recommendations can be fully implemented. Moving ahead before that process concludes would risk undermining a collaborative effort that benefits both countries and the transboundary Ktunaxa Nation.

The Ktunaxa Nation’s concerns are addressed. The transboundary Ktunaxa Nation has raised serious concerns about cumulative mining impacts to water, fish, and cultural resources. The IJC process offers an important and historic opportunity to incorporate Indigenous knowledge and rights into lasting solutions, with the Ktunaxa Nation holding their rightful seats at the negotiation table for the first time in history. Please ensure that the Fording River Mine Extension does not proceed until the Ktunaxa Nation’s concerns are meaningfully addressed.

If approved, the Fording River Extension Project would generate billions of pounds of additional waste rock, the primary source of selenium pollution already contaminating waters flowing through British Columbia, Montana, and Idaho. The expansion would also eliminate nearly 5,000 acres of rare high-elevation grasslands that provide critical habitat for bighorn sheep, grizzly bears, and other wildlife. The transboundary Kootenai watershed supports imperiled and otherwise important species, including threatened  bull trout, burbot, westslope cutthroat trout, and the endangered Kootenai River white sturgeon. It provides vital ecological, cultural, and economic benefits. 

Please pause the permitting process for the Fording River Extension Project until: 

• The IJC’s recommendations are implemented and evaluated
• U.S Clean Water Act selenium standard of .08 ug/l is met at the border
• Actions have been taken to address all concerns of the transboundary Ktunaxa Nation

We appreciate your consideration of these comments, which are also attached.

Sincerely,