Spring 1999 Bulletin

Picuris Treatens Lawsuit to Stop Mine Expansion

On February 16, the Pueblo of Picuris, just south of Taos in the Río Pueblo/Río Embudo watershed, announced its intention to sue Franklin Industrial Minerals and the New Mexico Mining and Minerals Division over a proposed 25-fold expansion of Franklin's mica mine. The mine is accused of violating the Clean Water Act for discharges into the local watershed which is part of the Río Grande watershed. The suit is a significant test of local enforcement of the Clean Water Act and the New Mexico Mining Act laws key to our effort to hold Molycorp accountable for its impacts on the Red River The mine lies outside the reservation boundary, directly up slope of Picuris and the Río Pueblo, on lands used for centuries by the Picuris people. A clay pit where tribal potters once gathered clay for their distinctive micaceous pottery now lies buried under tons of mining debris. The grade of mica mined by Franklin is used in nail polish, makeup, metal fleck paint, and drywall seams. The Picuris lawsuit alleges that the Mining Division has violated the New Mexico Mining Act by approving Franklin's Mining Permit and Closeout/Reclamation Plan, despite glaring shortcomings and inconsistencies. Those shortcomings include: 1) Franklin's lack of permits for drainage from its mine site that may already be polluting the local watershed in violation of the Clean Water Act; 2) Franklin's effort to fold its proposed expansion into the "Existing" Mine Permit, rather than having to file for the more stringent New Mine Permits for new areas; and 3) Franklin's claim that the gaping 440-foot-deep open pit the mine will leave behind will serve as wildlife habitat, creating the "self-sustaining ecosystem appropriate for the life zone of the surrounding areas" required by the Mining Act. In addition, Franklin has illegally stockpiled low-grade ore on adjacent Carson National Forest land. The Forest Service may have violated its own rules, and possibly the National Environmental Policy Act, by issuing a Special Use Permit to accommodate the company. For more information, contact the Picuris Pueblo Environment Dept., PO Box 127, Peñasco, NM 87553 (505-587-0110) or our office.

Please return to Spring 1999 Bulletin Index.