Home » EARTHblog » Bonnie Gestring
EARTHblog » Bonnie Gestring
Montana Governor Vetos Bad Mining Bill
A heartfelt thank you to Montana's Governor Bullock, who recently took the hatchet to SB 347, a terrible bill that would have allowed mining companies to divert unlimited amounts of water from Montana rivers and streams.
The bill, which was introduced by Sen. Chas Vincent (R-Libby), was a gift, wrapped in a big red bow, for the mining industry -- particularly underground mines. To keep the underground tunnels dry during mining, the mines pump out groundwater, and lower the water table. This eliminates water from the overlying streams and rivers that rely on that groundwater for flows through the year.
Tagged with: mining, montana, gov. bullock, veto
New report exposes the amount of ‘perpetual pollution’ from U.S. mines
This week we released a report that exposes, for the first time, the amount of contaminated water that will be generated by mining companies every year, in perpetuity.
After a lengthy review of government and company data, we discovered that 40 existing mines will generate 17-27 billion gallons of water every year, for centuries. It's a staggering amount - enough to fill 2 trillion water bottles - which would reach to the moon and back 54 times!
Tagged with: mining, water pollution, perpetual pollution
Follow Earthworks