Governor confers with B.C. premier

After meeting Tuesday with British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell, Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer expressed optimism that the state's environmental concerns will not be ignored in regard to mining projects in the Canadian headwaters of the Flathead River.

"He's a bright guy, and he has a good understanding of what we are dealing with here," Schweitzer said of Campbell, whom he met in Vancouver, B.C. "He was unequivocal. He said he has no interest in degrading the water or the air in the Flathead basin."

For the last two years, a series of mining proposals in the Canadian Flathead has prompted concerns in Montana about potential downstream pollution that could impact water quality and fisheries, along with transboundary wildlife populations.

The Flathead Basin Commission and the Flathead Coalition - a group formed in the 1980s to counter a Canadian mining project - have called for a comprehensive study of existing environmental conditions in Canada. The study would provide baseline information so future impacts could be measured and mitigated.

Without baseline data, Schweitzer said, it can be difficult to prove that concentrations of sodium, for example, were not naturally occurring in a river prior to upstream mining development.

"I told Campbell that we would be more than happy to participate in a baseline study in the upper Flathead Basin," Schweitzer said. "He was amenable to that."

British Columbia and mining officials have claimed that adequate baseline studies have already been conducted to Canadian standards. But those studies do not satisfy Montana officials.

Schweitzer said he is aware of the regulatory disparities between the state and the province, and he raised that issue with Campbell.

"The bottom line is are we going to proceed on good science, or is this going to be politics?" Schweitzer said.

Schweitzer said he was satisfied with Campbell's response.

"I was very impressed with him. I think we built a great line of communication and I'm very optimistic that we're going to be able to find common ground," he said.

Over the last few years, mining companies have pursued a series of projects to extract coking coal, coalbed methane gas and gold in the Canadian Flathead.

"What we've been seeing in the Canadian Flathead is sort of a shotgun approach to industrial activities," said Steve Thompson, a member of the Flathead Coalition and the Glacier field representative for the National Parks Conservation Association.

It is a situation that has prompted efforts to have the federal government pursue enforcement of the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909, which has provisions prohibiting transboundary environmental degradation. Because of that, it is a matter that should not be left to state and provincial bureaucracies, Thompson said.

"I think the key thing is for [Schweitzer and Campbell] to develop a solid personal relationship," Thompson said. "Because this is something that needs to be dealt with at the highest levels."

Montana governors dating back to Ted Schwinden have pursued diplomacy and agreements with British Columbia officials aimed at protecting Montana waters and wildlife. But Schweitzer said the issue "has been elevated to a much higher level than it has been in the past."

Schweitzer said he and Campbell agreed to meet again soon in Fernie, the British Columbia town closest to proposed mining development.

After the meeting, Schweitzer said his chief of staff, Hal Harper, and his natural resources policy adviser, Mike Volesky, also were optimistic.

"This meeting went better than any one of us could have imagined," Schweitzer said. "We can do business with this premier."

Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by e-mail at jmann@dailyinterlake.com