To Mine or Not to Mine?

Submitted by Brian Zuber on Tue, 2017-07-11 00:00

One of the many good questions asked today by our adventure-learners camping in Idaho City, is, "Do you think that new mining operations should be allowed within the Boise River watershed?"

It's a seemingly simple question, but like so much of what we are learning in this workshop, there is a lot of complexity and many shareholders who are a part of the decision making process. Mining, even when done following environmental regulations and with a care to protect our environment as much as possible, is still incredibly damaging to local ecosystems and watersheds. The environmental damage and disruption to the surface done by mining in Idaho City is sadly impressive, yet, without that history of mining in the area, Idaho City would not exist and even Boise would likely have a very different character today.

Many mining projects and other business ventures, both past and present, often overlook long-term sustainability in favor of short term profits. They come in, turn a blind eye towards environmental concerns, make a lot of money, provide a lot of jobs (although, sometimes only temporarily), and then leave behind a legacy of environmental destruction that lasts for hundreds of years, impacting the health of the human communities and ecosystems in the area. On top of that, when interacting with the environment, we don't always have full knowledge of how we are impacting it, and can inadvertantly create some serious environmental problems down the road. The discussion on forest fire management over the past century is a good example of that.

If I could go back in time and ban mining in the Boise River watershed and elsewhere, I would do so without hesitation. The Idaho I would come back to would be very different than it is today, but hopefully would be a much "cleaner" place. Of course, I can't go back in time (darn it!), and we cannot simply turn back the clock on industries that have become important parts of our Idaho economy. Mining, including new projects, will be a part of Idaho's future for quite some time. Today, I would not put an outright ban on new mining projects in our area, but I am very for strong environmental regulations being placed on the industry to limit environmental damage and to "clean up" mining sites after the operations cease. One of the constant political back-and-forths in our state and nation-wide is the role of government regulation. Do we have too much, not enough? I am a regulation loving guy, as long as they are well-crafted. We have to allow industries that support our economies to flourish, but we also have to hold them accountable for the long-term effects of their actions.

Comments

Denise Schwendener's picture

You mention a lot of excellent points.  I agree with and your regulation loving position.  So many companies are not held to the high expectations they should be.  They come in and make a lot of money off the land and then leave.  There needs to be accountability, or regulations on companies to restore the land they mine.  Companies need to regulate the land they mined for years after too.  Currently, the goverment is taking away environmental regulations.  The Stream Protection Rule is in the process of being retracted or already has been.  So now, mining companies are not responsible for the impacts of mining on streams.  Imagine the damage this could and is doing.  Streams flow everywhere: along the surface, percolating into groundwater, flowing into other streams and rivers and eventually the ocean.  Pollutants are easily spread.  It's also unfair to the citizens in mining cities.  They can't just pick up and move, but now their streams and local environment is polluted.  Last Feburary, in my 8th grade Earth Science class, students researched current news about water.  One student learned from her article that citizens in a mining community now had orange water flowing through their yard.  Coal mining turned the water orange.  How is that acceptable?  I think it is so unfair.  Some of these policy makers need to understand the science of watersheds before making these long lasting and devastaing policies.  I'm not sure if it can be done, but mining needs to be done in a more sustainable way.