Spring 2002 Bulletin

One Step Closer to Restoration of the Red River: Molycorp Closeout Agreemnet Reached

On January 15, 2002 Amigos Bravos, Molycorp, the New Mexico Mining and Minerals Division and the New Mexico Environment Department finally reached agreement – tentative as yet – on Molycorp’s closeout plan and permit. As we go to press, the permit awaits the issuance of a financial assurance bond of over $129 million prior to being signed. Although this new permit lacks some of the technical specificity we advocated for, and although the major issue of how to restore susbsidence areas remains to be resolved, Amigos Bravos is very pleased with the overall outcome and the precedent-setting concessions we were able to achieve. Moreover, Amigos Bravos is confident that we have set the foundation for addressing all of the outstanding issues of concern, which will finally be resolved (through a permit revision) in 2004. Many readers of this bulletin are well aware of Amigos Bravos’ efforts to restore the Red River. It has been our contention that the first step in restoring the Red is to stop acid mine drainage originating at the Molycorp mine from entering the river. Since 1988 Amigos Bravos has participated in numerous regulatory hearings and filed two lawsuits. In 2000 — in response to our efforts — we had the first major breakthrough when the Environmental Protection Agency issued a discharge permit requiring Molycorp to collect and treat over 7,000 tons of pollutants that are presently seeping into the river annually. At the same time, the Environment Department issued discharge permits which laid out a plan for site restoration to protect water quality after the mine closes — which could be 40 years from now. Under the new tentative permit agreement, and thanks to Molycorp’s concurrence, Amigos Bravos managed to require conditions that will greatly speed up the restoration process. In fact, the permit establishes several precedent-setting concessions not required by state law — including: 1. The new permit withdraws 2,247 acres from future mining. 2. Mine reclamation will start this year instead of waiting till the mine closes – and Molycorp has committed to spend a minimum of $3 million a year on reclamation activities. 3. A large and comprehensive revegetation test plot program will establish 100 acres of test plots by 2003 — which will allow our own revegetation alternatives to be tested alongside Molycorp’s proposal. 4. The Technical Review Committee will continue to meet until the revision of the permit in 2004 — this gives us a voice in ongoing plans and studies at the mine. 5. The permit will be revised if wildlife is being negatively impacted, and… 6. The open pit will be partially reclaimed. Still to be resolved, and sure to be a focus of the 2004 revision, is what to do with subsidence areas. Subsidence is a direct outcome of underground mining. When the ore is extracted the underground tunnels collapse leading to subsidence at the surface. These subsidence areas are composed of rubble-ized material that is highly unstable and creates new pathways for water contamination to reach the river. Under the new permit agreement Molycorp has until 2004 to develop a plan for reclaiming over 200 acres of subsidence at the mine. Initial research conducted on behalf of Amigos Bravos has been unable to find any instances where subsidence areas have been successfully reclaimed. Developing a good reclamation plan for subsidence areas will be critical for the continuation of underground mining at Molycorp, because the New Mexico Mining Act prohibits mining impacts that cannot be reclaimed. That aside, the new agreement provides us all, and especially our membership who have so generously supported this work, with a good reason to celebrate. Congratulations to one and all.

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