SELENIUM BILL IS TABLED!

Thanks to the quick action by members of the Caribou Clean Water Partnership a Bill designed to legalize selenium pollution at active mining areas was tabled. The bill was introduced into a Senate committee in the Idaho legislature by the Idaho Mining Association. With powerful connections in the Senate, the House, and the Governor's office, the IMA expected to easily muscle through the bill.

Letters from our members sent directly to the Senators working on the Bill made a big difference! By pointing out the damaging effects of the Bill to Idaho's groundwater and other industries, our members helped some of the Senators take a second look and question what they had been told by the IMA. Also, with urging from our partners, the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality and the Environmental Protection Agency both began to look more closely at the Bill as well.

With pressure from constituents, the press, and other agencies, the Idaho Mining Association lost confidence in its ability to pass the Bill and asked that it be pulled. Now it is up to the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality to lead fair rulemaking meetings this spring and take action to further protect water quality at phosphate mining areas.

SMOKY DECISION DUE

The Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management are due to release a record of decision on Simplot's plans to expand mining operations at it's huge Smoky Canyon mine. The mine is already listed as a Superfund Site earning Simplot a spot atop a report of the ten worst corporate polluters in the nation.

A decision to permit expansion would guarantee additional selenium contamination to streams and ground water already polluted. While we are hoping for the right decision, we are prepared to take action if feds permit additional pollution.

The Caribou Clean Water Partnership has a new full-time organizer for the Pocatello area. Angela Carpenter has been a member of the partnership for over a year and will be a great addition to the dedicated staff of this campaign. We hope those in the Pocatello area will all have a chance to meet Angela and feel her energy and enthusiasm for this work. Listen to Angela describe her interest in this work in her own words:

"Growing up participating in 4-H, I used to camp in Alpine Wyoming every summer, driving right past phosphate mines to get there. I never realized the atrocities occurring in the environment that I was out exploring and enjoying.

I am an Idaho native, living in Pocatello since I was seven. I treasure the outdoors around Pocatello because I grew up camping and fishing with my dad.

I was surprised, as I think most people were, to learn about selenium contamination. It's a problem that is being kept quite under raps by those who don't want to deal with it. My goal is to make selenium contamination a widely known fact that everyone in our area is aware of and cares about. As we educate more and more community members we will be stronger and better able to get mining companies to clean up. I've been a member of the partnership for the last year, I'm thrilled to be more involved and help make a change in our environment. I'm very excited to get to know the current members of the partnership and to generate more involvement in the community.

Our environment and natural resources are what make Idaho great. If our water becomes contaminated we will lose the very things that make Idaho such a fantastic place to live. I'm glad to know that I am working to help protect our resources for future generations and the world. I'm optimistic that together we really can make a difference in Idaho."

--Angela Carpenter

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