Agencies authorize expansion of Idaho phosphate mine

The Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service have approved a more than 1,400-acre expansion of a southeastern Idaho phosphate mine operated by the J.R. Simplot Co.

The expansion of the Smoky Canyon Mine allows mining in designated roadless areas and requires that the selenium waste created by the mining be capped to prevent it from spreading into the water supply.

Environmental groups criticized the decision Wednesday, saying it will increase pollution in an area that is already damaged by mining waste and that it violates federal roadless rules. At least one group, the Caribou Clean Water Partnership, has already promised to appeal the decision.

"This is a direct frontal assault on the roadless rule," said Tim Presl, a lawyer with the environmental nonprofit law firm Earthjustice in Bozeman, Mont. "They're expanding into two roadless areas on the Caribou-Targhee National Forest ... They're putting all their chips on that the roadless rule will be invalidated soon."

Selenium pollution has already harmed the region's fishery, said John Hart with the Caribou Clean Water Partnership.

"If today's Record of Decision is not reversed, it will be a major setback for Idaho and Wyoming water quality," Hart said in a statement. "If the federal agencies, whose job it is to protect our public lands, cannot compel the J.R. Simplot Co. to clean up past contamination and comply with clean water laws, then ordinary citizens are forced to take action."

Older, played-out portions of the mine are already under federal Superfund cleanup authority, said Jeff Jones, the phosphate program manager for the Caribou-Targhee National Forest. Still, he said, officials with the Forest Service and the BLM are confident the new mining can be done without toxic waste entering the water supply.

Simplot uses phosphate in its agricultural fertilizer operations.

Phosphate mining leaves behind piles of rocks that are laden with selenium, and the substance can leach into the water supply. While healthy in small doses, large doses of selenium can cause liver damage or death.

The cap will "significantly reduce the amount of water that moves through the waste rock," Jones said. "So by putting a cover on the waste rock piles, our analysis shows that will significantly reduce selenium in the water supply."

The Caribou-Targhee National Forest's land use plan provides for phosphate mining, Jones said, and Forest Service officials believe that the roadless rules allow for the expansion of mining.

BLM geologist Bill Stout said the agreement would allow the economic benefits of mining to continue in the region.

The proposed expansion has been a contentious issue since 2003. The Forest Service got more than 47,000 comments from the public during one step of the approval process alone, said Caribou-Targhee National Forest Supervisor Larry Timchak.