For Immediate Release: Monday, March 31, 2025
Contacts:
Will Tiedemann, Conservation Associate, Idaho Conservation League, (208) 345-6933 x 213
Sydney Anderson, Mining & Policy Manager, Idaho Rivers United, (208) 343-7481 x 2005
Fred Coriell, Board Member, Save the South Fork Salmon, (208) 315-3630
Bonnie Gestring, Northwest Program Director, Earthworks, (406) 546-8386
Will Shoemaker, Communications & Engagement Director, Advocates for the West, (208) 801-7523
Stibnite Gold Mine water quality permit sent back to the drawing board in response to conservation groups’ appeal
Idaho Department of Environmental Quality seeks to modify previously issued permit for massive gold mine threatening clean water in Idaho
BOISE, ID — In response to conservation groups’ appeal of a water quality permit issued for the proposed Stibnite Gold Mine due to its inadequacy to protect water quality in the South Fork Salmon River watershed, the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is seeking to revisit the permit to address multiple shortcomings.
The Idaho Conservation League and Idaho Rivers United, represented by Advocates for the West, together with Save the South Fork Salmon and Earthworks, appealed the permit for mining company Perpetua Resources’ proposed Stibnite Gold Mine in June 2024, after DEQ dismissed repeated concerns raised during the permitting process.
On March 25, after the conservation groups filed a written brief in support of their appeal, DEQ filed a motion to pause the proceedings so it can modify the existing permit to address “new information and changes to the project.” DEQ plans to modify the permit to address numerous concerns the conservation groups raised in their appeal, including failing to consider and protect against the full extent of mercury, arsenic and antimony pollution the Stibnite Gold Mine will cause throughout the headwaters of the East Fork of the South Fork Salmon River, and failing to offer a sufficient socioeconomic justification for issuing the permit.
“While we are pleased to see DEQ take action to review these issues, many of which we identified within our appeal, we’re concerned that these issues were not adequately addressed from the outset of the permitting process,” said Sydney Anderson, Mining & Policy Manager at Idaho Rivers United.
Perpetua Resources’ proposed Stibnite Gold Mine, an open-pit cyanide leach gold mine in Idaho’s Salmon River Mountains, would jeopardize public health and clean water, harm threatened species and permanently scar thousands of acres of public land in the headwaters of the South Fork Salmon River. The mine site is 45 air miles from McCall, Idaho, adjacent to the Frank Church–River of No Return Wilderness Area and is within the homelands of the Nez Perce Tribe.
“We are pleased that DEQ has decided to revisit the mine’s water quality permit,” said Bryan Hurlbutt, Staff Attorney at Advocates for the West. “But we’ll be watching to see whether DEQ makes the kind of meaningful improvements required by law and necessary to protect the South Fork Salmon River watershed.”
DEQ is the agency designated to certify whether polluting activities will comply with water quality standards in Idaho under Section 401 of the federal Clean Water Act.
“There is no room for error when it comes to mercury and arsenic,” said Bonnie Gestring, Northwest Program Director at Earthworks. “These are highly toxic pollutants that must be adequately addressed in the 401 certification to protect public health, clean water and important fish populations.”
“From the start, we were concerned that this certification had been issued prior to the Stibnite Gold Mine receiving the final approval from the Forest Service and the required National Marine Fisheries Service’s Biological Opinion,” said Will Tiedemann, Conservation Associate at the Idaho Conservation League. “It is imperative that a project as consequential as the Stibnite Gold Mine fully comply with environmental law.”
While DEQ issued the 401 Water Quality Certification in May 2024, the Forest Service did not approve Perpetua’s mine plan until January of this year. In February, a coalition of local and national conservation groups sued the Forest Service for approving the flawed plan which doubles the size of the existing disturbance to 3,265 acres — the equivalent of nearly 2,500 football fields — and entails excavating three massive open pits. It would create 280 million tons of waste rock and include constructing a 475-foot tall, 120-million-ton tailings storage facility — more than 1.5 times taller than the Statue of Liberty. One of the open pits would extend more than 720 feet beneath the riverbed of the East Fork South Fork Salmon River.
Despite the Forest Service’s approval, the project cannot be implemented until several other key steps are completed. In addition to the modified water quality permit from DEQ and other federal and state permits, Perpetua Resources also must receive approval from the Forest Service on additional revisions to its Plan of Operations, acceptance of reclamation cost estimates and review of financial assurances.
Conservation groups and the Nez Perce Tribe also appealed the air quality permit DEQ issued for the proposed Stibnite Gold Mine. Last year, the Idaho Board of Environmental Quality ruled in favor of the conservation groups and the Tribe, finding that DEQ failed to properly account for arsenic-laden air pollution the mine will emit. That appeal is ongoing, and another hearing is scheduled for this Wednesday, April 2, before the Board of Environmental Quality.
Meanwhile, on March 24, law firm Levi & Korsinsky LLP announced the filing of a class action securities lawsuit against Perpetua Resources seeking to recover losses of shareholders who were adversely affected by alleged securities fraud by the mining company following a dramatic decline in Perpetua’s stock price.
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Idaho Conservation League’s mission is to create a conservation community and pragmatic, enduring solutions that protect and restore the air you breathe, the water you drink, and the land and wildlife you love.
Idaho Rivers United’s mission is to protect and restore the rivers and fisheries of Idaho and is focused exclusively on the health and protection of river resources.
Advocates for the West is a non-profit, public interest environmental law firm headquartered in Boise, Idaho, that works to defend public lands, water, fish and wildlife throughout the American West.
Save the South Fork Salmon strives to protect and preserve the ecological, cultural, and economic resources of the South Fork of the Salmon River watershed and the well-being of the people that depend on them for generations to come.
www.savethesouthforksalmon.com
Earthworks mission is to protect communities and the environment against the adverse impacts of mineral and energy development while seeking sustainable solutions.