Dear Editor: New Gold Mine Near Norris

Dear Editor,

To my dismay, as it should be for all Montanans, a new gold mine using cyanide washing near Norris, Montana. The Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) okayed the Bear Claw mine. The cyanide ban law was passed in 1998. According to the DEQ, the permit was issued without public notification before the banned law! This is a new mining company; therefore, the ban law should be in place. The new mine is 1.75 miles from Hot Springs Creek and the Headwaters of the Madison River!

Matt Vincent of Revune Mining Company states that qualified Montana graduates are running this new mine. We've heard this same old story in the past. Zortman-Landusky Pegasus was declared bankrupt and is now left up to taxpayers to clean up. Golden Sunlight is pumping mine waste and treating it to perpetuity. We have the never-ending Berkely Pit and the Kendall mine out of Lewistown. We must demand clean water as written in the Montana Constitution.

Sincerely,

KATHRYN "KATIE" SMITH

Whitehall, Montana