Chemical company plans to demonstrate its planned design

By CAROL RYAN DUMAS
Capital Press

SODA SPRINGS -- The Bureau of Land Management's draft environmental impact study on Monsanto's proposed Blackfoot Bridge mine is open for public comment at a time when mining is back in the public eye because of a connection to more livestock deaths.

Eighteen cattle were recently found dead in the region, likely of selenium poisoning. The Associated Press reported the cattle died around Aug. 5 near the defunct Lanes Creek Mine, formerly mined by Alumet Co., which is no longer in business after it went bankrupt in 2002. The land is now owned by Bear Lake Grazing Association, which also owned the cattle. J.R. Simplot Co. owns mineral rights on the land, but has never mined on the site.

"Any sort of adverse event like that, whether Monsanto is in the permitting process or not, is unfortunate," said Dave Farnsworth, Monsanto's business unit leader for mining. "But it allows us to show the difference in our proposal and what historically happened with old practices."

Some of the measures Monsanto has taken in its plan for the Blackfoot Bridge mine are a complex cover design to prevent water infiltration to the selenium-containing materials, use of topsoil to prevent uptake of selenium in vegetation, selection of vegetative cover that limits uptake of selenium and noxious weed control -- weeds are high accumulator plants.

The plan also calls for an extensive water-handling systems to capture and contain water "until we can ensure it meets water-quality standards," Farnsworth said.

From the mid-1970s to the late 1990s, mining companies were required to place a certain amount of selenium-bearing overburden materials as supplement for topsoil, then place vegetation directly on top of that to reclaim the site. That made selenium available for uptake, he said.

Since the late 1990s, however, the companies have instituted several practices designed to separate vegetation from selenium.

"The Blackfoot Bridge mine will go a step further by use of a geosynthetic liner system, topsoil and extensive water-handling systems to prevent uptake of selenium by grasses and other vegetation on the site," Farnsworth said.

Monsanto is seeking federal approval for the new mine and wants to have it opened by the time its South Rasmussen mine plays out in 2011.

The company says the mine is critical to the continued production of the elemental phosphorus used in glyphosate, a herbicide. Glyphosate, a component of Monsanto's Roundup brand, is one of the foundations of modern agriculture, said Trent Clark, Monsanto's director of public and governmental affairs.

Blackfoot Bridge, Monsanto's fifth mine, would sit on 739 acres, 76 of which is public land, and includes 40 acres of water-management ponds. The north pit would be located 660 feet from the Blackfoot River, separated by a ridge. The Blackfoot River is listed by Idaho's Department of Environmental Quality as an impacted stream.

To obtain a permit, Monsanto must be able to ensure water quality and that no detectable trace of selenium enters the river.

Mining digs up selenium-bearing rock, which is put in overburden piles alongside the mine and later backfilled into the pit. When selenium is oxidized through air or water, it can leach into surface water or groundwater. It can also be taken up by vegetation.

While selenium is an essential trace mineral, at higher exposures it can be harmful or deadly to humans, fish, wildlife and livestock.

The company has spent five years and $6.5 million into studies addressing selenium management.

"The Blackfoot Bridge mine will be amongst the most environmentally responsible in North America," Farnsworth said.

Kyle Free, BLM mining engineer at its Pocatello field office, said it was BLM's job to look at Monsanto's mine plan and determine if it should be approved or if an alternative should be approved.

The Army Corps of Engineers and Idaho Department of Environmental Quality were involved in the process.

"This is the public's chance to look at this and see if we overlooked something," he said.

Originally, BLM set the end of the comment period as Sept. 28, but the Greater Yellowstone Coalition requested a 30-day extension, with no objection by Monsanto, and BLM agreed. The new comment deadline was to be released Aug. 28.

Staff writer Carol Ryan Dumas is based in Twin Falls. E-mail: crdumas@capitalpress.com.

Online

Monsanto: www.monsanto.com/sodasprings

Bureau of Land Management EIS: www.blm.gov/id/st/en/prog/0.html

To comment

Comments can be submitted to:

Bureau of Land Management
Attention: Blackfoot Bridge EIS Project Manager
Blackfoot Bridge Project, ARCADIS
630 Plaza Drive
Highlands Ranch, CO 80129