TRAFFIC

Court halts Southeast Idaho phosphate mine expansion

The ruling says the Southeast Idaho project needs more environmental review.

BY REBECCA BOONE - THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: 04/14/09

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A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that U.S. District Judge Mikel Williams failed to consider whether logging and topsoil removal during expansion of the J.R. Simplot Co.-owned Smoky Canyon phosphate mine would cause irreparable harm to the site.

The mine has supplied about 1.5 million tons of phosphate ore a year to the company's Don plant in Pocatello, where it is converted into fertilizer. But company officials have said the current site will likely be played out by 2010. Last June the Bush administration approved a plan to allow the mine to expand into roadless areas of the Caribou-Targhee National Forest, about 100 miles south of Yellowstone.

The Greater Yellowstone Coalition sued last fall, contending the mine has historically sent large amounts of naturally occurring selenium into local waters, which has poisoned or caused birth defects in wildlife and livestock. The environmental groups say expanding the mine would create a major environmental disturbance and that the decision has not had adequate scientific review.

The appellate panel agreed in part, finding that the environmental groups had raised serious questions about whether the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management had violated the National Environmental Policy Act, the Clean Water Act and the National Forest Management Act in approving the proposed expansion. Still, the judges said the lower court did not abuse its discretion when it found the environmental groups were unlikely to succeed on the merits of their case.

Attorneys representing Simplot did not immediately return calls from The Associated Press requesting comment. Previously, company officials have said an adverse ruling would lead to layoffs at the mine and the eventual closure of the fertilizer plant. U.S. Department of Justice spokesman Andrew Ames said only that the department was reviewing the ruling.

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TRAFFIC

Court halts Southeast Idaho phosphate mine expansion

The ruling says the Southeast Idaho project needs more environmental review.

BY REBECCA BOONE - THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: 04/14/09

IdahoStatesman.com