Hecla says ‘bad actor’ lawsuit dismissed, coalition vows to keep fighting mine

With the dismissal of a “bad actor” lawsuit following the retirement of former CEO Phillips Baker Jr., mining company Hecla said it is ramping up exploration in the Cabinet Mountains area south of Libby.

But a coalition of Indian tribes and environmental groups said it will keep fighting to enforce Montana laws that prevent “irresponsible mining” and leave Montanans to pick up the tab.

Hecla describes itself as the largest silver mining company in the country and as owning “a number of exploration and pre-development projects in world-class silver and gold mining districts throughout North America.”

It acquired the Montanore project near Libby in 2016.

The coalition of Indian tribes and environmental groups had sued the Montana Department of Environmental Quality in 2021 alleging the state agency wasn’t enforcing the state’s “bad actor” provision in relation to Baker. That law bars corporations with outstanding obligations from embarking on new projects without paying old cleanup costs.

The groups alleged the DEQ shouldn’t let Hecla move ahead with “bad actor” Baker at the helm. Baker was one of the former leaders of Pegasus Gold Incorporated, which filed for bankruptcy in 1998 and left behind more than $80 million in reclamation and water treatment obligations, the groups alleged.

In May 2024, however, Hecla announced Baker had retired after nearly 23 years of service and was also stepping down from the board. It said the Board of Directors appointed Catherine “Cassie” Boggs, its board chairperson, as interim president and CEO.

In a statement, Boggs thanked Baker for his “valued contributions” to the “silver industry overall” and said a search for a permanent leader would start. She said mining would continue.

“Hecla’s day-to-day mining operations will carry on unabated with the talented and dedicated staff we have at all our operations and at our headquarters,” Boggs said in a statement. “Senior management and I will continue to support and guide our operations and personnel throughout this leadership transition.”

Baker could not be reached late Monday afternoon through a message via LinkedIn about the circumstances under which he retired. His profile page said he left Hecla in May and is in a “career transition.”

Filed by Earthjustice, the lawsuit hinged on Baker’s leadership at Hecla, however. On July 11, the tribes and conservation groups filed a motion to voluntarily dismiss their claim, but said they would continue to work to prevent “irresponsible mining.”

Earthjustice represents the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, Fort Belknap Indian Community, Ksanka Elders Advisory Committee, Earthworks, Montana Environmental Information Center, Clark Fork Coalition, Rock Creek Alliance, Montana Conservation Voters, Montana Trout Unlimited, Save Our Cabinets, and Cabinet Resources Group in the “bad actor” litigation.

The coalition said Baker has “no continuing roles at Hecla, no continuing connections, and no continuing responsibilities.” The tribes and conservation groups also said Baker’s retirement would help ensure Montana’s environment is safeguarded “from the worst mining practices.”

“The Cabinet Mountains hold an important position in the relationship between the Ksanka (Kootenai), Salish, and Qlispe people, and all of creation, with the Ksanka holding a particularly special connection to the area,” said Vernon Finley, director of the Kootenai Culture Committee and member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, in a statement.

“While this place is now safe from one bad actor, we stand firm in our resolve to protect our ancestral territory from mining that threatens our sacred places and landscapes. The lands, waters, and wildlife in the Cabinet Mountains are too precious to let our guard down.”

The groups had asked a Lewis and Clark County District judge to rule the DEQ had violated its enforcement obligations under the Metal Mine Reclamation Act and force the agency to enforce the “bad actor” provision against Hecla and Baker.

In their recent news release, the coalition said it had compelled DEQ to bring the initial enforcement action, but then brought its own after the DEQ “abruptly abandoned its enforcement effort.”

“Those of us who live or recreate in the Cabinet Mountains of northwestern Montana know how important it is to protect this special place from irresponsible mining executives,” said Mary Costello of the Rock Creek Alliance and Save Our Cabinets in a statement.

“We are relieved that Phillips Baker is no longer at the helm of Hecla Mining Company, but regret that Montana DEQ reversed direction and chose not to enforce the Bad Actor law.

“Regardless of what mining company or mining executive arrives next on the scene to push through an ill-conceived mining scheme, we will be ready to protect the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness and our clean water.”

The coalition said DEQ filed a “bad actor” enforcement action against Hecla and Baker in 2018, and a district court ruled that DEQ had jurisdiction. However, it said “DEQ announced it was dropping the case, citing the election of a new governor,” among other reasons; the Daily Montanan previously reported DEQ argued the case would take too much “time and money” to pursue.

In an email Monday, a spokesperson for the DEQ said the agency had no comment.

Last week, Hecla announced the Lewis and Clark County District Court had dismissed the lawsuit, as the coalition requested. It said the groups had wanted DEQ to deny exploration and mining permits to Hecla’s subsidiaries.

“With Mr. Baker’s recent retirement from the Company, the plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed the lawsuit,” Hecla said.

However, Hecla said the groups had made “bad actor” allegations “not based on (Baker’s) roles with Hecla, but because of his prior leadership positions” and defaults at Zortman-Landusky, Basin Creek and Beal Mountain mines.

“With the dismissal of the ‘bad actor’ lawsuit, the company is focused on advancing permitting of the Libby Exploration Project, a silver-copper project located 23 miles south of Libby, Lincoln County, Montana, (about 50 miles north of the company’s Lucky Friday Mine in Idaho),” Hecla said.

The news release from Hecla also said it owns other patented mining claims and “numerous unpatented mining claims at the project, and has submitted a plan for review to the U.S. Forest Service.

“The plan of operations, if approved, would allow for dewatering and rehabilitation of an existing 14,000’ adit (mine entrance), completion of 10,500’ of new underground development, and the commencement of exploration activities at the project,” Hecla said.

But the groups that filed the lawsuit said they will continue their work to protect “some of Montana’s most iconic species in the Cabinet Mountains,” including grizzly bears, wolverines, and bull trout, which the proposed Montanore Mine “gravely threatens.”

“Now that Phillips Baker is no longer at the helm of Hecla, Montanans can breathe just a bit easier knowing that a bad actor is not attempting to open another mine in Montana,” said Derf Johnson, deputy director of the Montana Environmental Information Center, in a statement.

“However, even without Baker, Hecla still intends to open a dangerous mine in Cabinet Mountains Wilderness, and we are not going to give up in assuring that the mine never proceeds.”

Keila Szpaller is deputy editor of the Daily Montanan, a nonprofit newsroom.