A Canadian mining company has for now dropped its pursuit of an exploratory drilling project near Mount St. Helens, prompting environmental advocates to declare victory after a prolonged legal fight.
Ascot Resources, along with the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management, agreed late last month to voluntarily dismiss appeals aiming to keep the project alive. The action followed an earlier court opinion that sided with opponents of the drilling on many key arguments.
“We think this is it, and we consider it a win, after working on it for a decade,” said Matt Little, executive director of the Gifford Pinchot Task Force.
The decision likely won’t be the end of the controversy, however. BLM plans to work with Ascot to develop a revised environmental assessment this year and possibly issue new drilling permits, said agency spokesman Michael Campbell.
Ascot’s plan was the third time since 2004 that a company has attempted to drill or develop a mine in the area, according to the task force, a Vancouver-based advocacy group.
The most recent proposal was reviewed by the forest service and BLM, both of which approved it in 2012.
Ascot Resources had hoped to carry out exploratory drilling in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, just north of the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument boundary. The company planned to look for copper, silver, gold and other minerals by drilling 63 holes at 23 different sites north of the mountain.
The exploration never happened. After an unsuccessful administrative appeal, the Gifford Pinchot Task Force filed a lawsuit aiming to block the drilling, citing environmental impacts and other concerns. That led to a July 2014 opinion from the U.S. District Court in Oregon finding earlier review and approval of the plan inadequate, and, ultimately, the decision by Ascot and others to drop it.
Opponents had argued that exploratory drilling could cause significant harm to a sensitive natural area, particularly wildlife and water in the Green River area. The land, where mining claims go back decades, was purchased by the forest service in 1986 with funding from the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund, according to the task force. The court’s decision on the Ascot plan could impact other areas tied to the same program, said Roger Flynn, director and managing attorney of the Western Mining Action Project.
“The district court’s ruling has far-reaching ramifications, as millions of acres of public lands across the country were purchased with LWCF monies,” Flynn said in a statement.
As it revisits the Ascot plan, BLM will work to ensure its environmental assessment follows the National Environmental Policy Act, Campbell said. The court ruled that the 2012 assessment violated that law by not considering all alternatives, among other problems.
Despite the most recent setback, Ascot is still interested in pursuing exploratory drilling in the area, Campbell said, and BLM is still working on the issue.
“Time will tell whether or not the (review) pans out in a way that’s going to allow us to move forward,” he said.
