The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
The beginning of a long relationship
by Mark Reaman
The Crested Butte Town Council will meet Friday and the Gunnison County Commissioners will meet Tuesday to discuss and take public comment on the proposed Mt. Emmons mine and water treatment plant (WTP) deal.
A memorandum of understanding (MOU) has been drawn up between the town, the county, several Colorado regulatory departments and the Mt. Emmons Mining Company (MEMC), a wholly owned subsidiary of Freeport-McMoRan that now controls the mining rights and WTP on Red Lady.
The MOU outlines a path toward a permanent solution to keep the WTP secure and operating and to potentially take off the table the idea of a molybdenum mine on Red Lady.
As explained in a lengthy Crested Butte News story last week, the MEMC entered into an acquisition agreement with U.S. Energy, the longtime permit holder of the mining rights and the responsible party for the WTP. What was not clear in last week’s News story was the motivation of Freeport and MEMC.
Basically, under federal Environmental Protection Agency regulations, a company associated with a mine site in the past is essentially always associated with the site and carries some liability if something goes wrong on that site. Freeport purchased mining company Phelps Dodge in 2007. A subsidiary of Phelps Dodge, the Mt. Emmons Mining Company, at one time controlled the mining rights and built the water treatment plant. Thus, Freeport carries some potential liability with the Red Lady situation.
Freeport spokesman Eric Kinneberg confirmed in an email this week that the company will be putting up two years’ worth of operating costs for the water treatment plant and will work with the other entities to really address concerns with the site.
“Mt. Emmons Mining Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Freeport-McMoRan, Inc., and various local and state authorities entered into a memorandum of understanding to serve as a basis for future cooperation and agreement regarding the appropriate management of the water treatment plant and ancillary environmental issues on the Mt. Emmons Mine Site,” Kinneberg stated. “Mt. Emmons Mining Company previously owned the Mt. Emmons site and constructed the water treatment plant, but was not involved in prior mining, which took place on the site from 1881 through 1970.”
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“As the previous owner of the site and water treatment plant, Mt. Emmons [Mining Company] wanted to ensure sustained operation of the water treatment plant that discharges to Coal Creek,” he said.
Kinneberg reiterated the points in the MOU, writing, “Mt. Emmons will work cooperatively with the parties to the Memorandum of Understanding to protect the public health, safety, welfare and the environment of the Mt. Emmons Mine Site and Coal Creek…”
Those points include compliance with all applicable environmental laws and regulations; finding and implementing technical solutions to the environmental issues at the site; pursuing disposition of the mining and mill site claims and fee simple lands (which encompasses area property owned by the mine owner, including those lands under which the ore body lies, which are the fee simple patented lands) in a mutually beneficial way; and working with the federal legislative delegation on any mutually acceptable legislation required to implement long-term solutions, along with addressing other issues.
Crested Butte mayor Glenn Michel said the Town Council wants to give the public an opportunity to vet the progress on the mine situation. Town attorney John Belkin will present the MOU Friday evening and the public will have a chance to ask questions.
“The purpose of the meeting is to inform the public of the MOU, allow the public to ask questions and provide comment, and for the council to discuss the MOU in public. The council has been informed on the development of the MOU over the past months by the town attorney, so our discussion should be limited. At the end of the discussion and considering the public input, the council may vote to direct the mayor to sign the MOU on Friday night,” Michel said. “I expect a lot of questions from the public at the meeting on Friday. We all should remember the MOU is an agreement that the signing parties agree to work together to find a solution to the Mt Emmons mine and there are still a lot of answers to be ironed out. This is only the beginning of a long relationship—there is still a long way to go.”
Michel said because of the magnitude of the issue, the meeting would take place at the Crested Butte Town Hall in Jerry’s Gym so a possible crowd can be accommodated. “Although the meeting will be held on a Friday night in the gym it will be run as a normal Town Council meeting,” Michel explained. “There will be a lot of excitement and emotion in the room. Let’s all be respectful of our fellow citizens, as we always are, and have an informative and productive meeting.”
Kinneberg said no timetable has been established to accomplish all the things in the MOU but every indication from the parties involved is that the desire is to get it done as quickly as possible.
The Crested Butte Town Council meeting will be held Friday, February 26 at 6 p.m. at Jerry’s Gym. “I would encourage as many people from the community to show up so that we send a strong message of support for the MOU as the town of Crested Butte continues to work towards a permanent solution to the mine,” said Michel. “This will provide legitimacy and momentum for our future actions.”
The county commissioners will address the MOU as part of their regular Tuesday, March 1 meeting.
