The Golden Sunlight Mine near Whitehall won't have to even partially backfill its huge open pit mine.

Under a decision released Friday, state and federal agency representatives said they've agreed that the best reclamation plan for the Golden Sunlight Mine involves reshaping and revegetating the mine's highwall, and using an underground sump in the bottom of the pit to keep metal-laden water from seeping into the nearby Jefferson River.

The sump would divert about 25 gallons per minute of water from the mine pit into an existing treatment plant.

The decision won't be finalized, though, until a 30-day comment period has passed.

Officials with the Montana Department of Environmental Quality and the federal Bureau of Land Management say that this is the only alternative that will provide adequate assurance that the river won't eventually be polluted by tainted water migrating underground from the mine pit.

"After I inherited this project I realized it was a choice between an emphasis on aesthetics or an emphasis on water quality," said DEQ Director Richard Opper. "The science told us that backfilling the pit would degrade surface and ground water quality. I made the decision to go with the alternative that better protected the state's water resources."

But Jeff Barber, reclamation program director for the Montana Environmental Information Center, said this directly contradicts an order by Helena District Court Judge Thomas Honzel in 2002. The judge had told the state then to "immediately" implement its 1998 reclamation plan, but the DEQ and BLM decided they first had to put together a supplement to the original Environmental Impact Statement.

"They have spent a decade-plus now, trying to figure out how not to reclaim that mine, whether it means changing statutes or submitting a new reclamation plan," Barber said on Friday. "The bottom line is the state and Golden Sunlight are in direct violation of a court order."

Tim Dimock, the mine's general manager, said he hadn't read the entire document released Friday by the DEQ and BLM, but he's pleased they've chosen the sump pump alternative.

"We really believe that's the best option to prevent any (acid mine runoff) from going into the groundwater from the pit walls," Dimock said. "We are very happy with the decision. We think it's the best environmental choice."

The reclamation work is slated to begin once the mine is closed. At this point, that's scheduled to take place during the third quarter of 2008, but with gold prices so high, Dimock said they hope to extend the mine's life.

The draft supplemental document, released in 2005, had recommended this alternative to the original plan that involved backfilling the pit. MEIC has long contended that the Montana Constitution requires that all mined lands be reclaimed, and along with four other groups took DEQ and Golden Sunlight to court to force implementation of the initial partial pit backfill plan.

Under the new plan, the existing 47 million cubic yards of acidic waste rock, which has been pulled from the pit, would be capped with soil and revegetated. This alternative would cost but a fraction of the previous proposal's cost -- only $1.26 million compared to about $55 million.

The BLM and DEQ argue that if the pit was partially filled with the acidic waste rock the company had mined from it, tainted water could percolate into the nearby Jefferson River. The agencies say that better analysis led to this new decision.

Barber said he suspects that the new plan is merely a way for the DEQ and BLM to create documentation in support of the less expensive alternative, since mine officials argued in the past that backfilling the pit would be so expensive it would put the gold mine out of business.

Waiting period

Under state rules, DEQ must wait at least 15 days before issuing its record of decision. Federal regulations require that BLM wait at least 30 days.

The final SEIS has been mailed to persons on the project mailing list. It also is available on the DEQ Web site at www.deq.mt.

Requests for copies should be sent to Greg Hallsten, Director's Office, Montana Department of Environmental Quality, PO Box 200901, Helena MT 59620-0901, (406) 444-3276, or e-mailed to ghallsten@mt.gov.