MISSOULA – Three tribal groups and several conservation organizations filed a lawsuit against the Montana DEQ this week for not enforcing a state law prohibiting companies that don’t clean up existing mine sites from any future opportunities. The lawsuit, filed this week, implies the Gianforte administration is allowing Hecla Mining to dig for copper and silver in the Cabinet Mountain Wilderness, after they failed to clean up waste during a previous project that has permanently contaminated the water of the Fort Belknap Reservation, forcing Montana taxpayers to shoulder the costs, that the DEQ predicted, will be more than $2 million annually.
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