Teresa Erickson spoke on “A Seat at the Table,” a book she wrote detailing the landmark Good Neighbor Agreement, an environmental pact between residents and the Sibanye Stillwater platinum and palladium mines in Stillwater and Sweet Grass counties, at Wheatgrass Books on Thursday evening.
“A natural resource conflict that didn’t get resolved, but has been managed…that is what this is about,” said Erickson to nearly 50 patrons in attendance.
More than 25 years old, the agreement still governs Sibanye Stillwater mining operations, preserving the environmental integrity of the East Boulder and Stillwater rivers.
“I interviewed several people who were key to the involvement in creating the Good Neighbor Agreement,” said Erickson, herself involved in the pact’s formation.
Signed in 2000, she explained many of the key players are now deceased. “I dug up old records, found recordings…went through newspapers,” she said.
Jerry Iverson, a Big Timber artist and outdoor enthusiast, and Paul Hawks, a Melville rancher, were also in attendance at the reading. The duo served as living testaments to the David and Goliath saga behind the pact agreement.
THE UNDERGROUND“The Good Neighbor Agreement is 120 pages, a very complex, detailed set of conditions and contractual obligations between the Northern Plaines Resource Council, Cottonwood Resource Council, and Stillwater Protective Association,” said Iverson.
“In 1984 or ‘85, my wife Linda and I were on a pack trip through the mountains,” said Iverson. “We left Big Timber, went to Jardine, Cooke City, and headed back to Big Timber. On our way down the highway, we went past what was going to become the East Boulder Mine. There was some activity there, but not much. We saw this incredibly beautiful valley. When we heard there was a permit application for developing a mine on the East Boulder [River]…that is what piqued my interest.”
“We went through the whole process testifying in public hearings,” continued Iverson. “The agencies pretty much ignored our perspective. They issued the permit, and allowed the company to pollute the water, to discharge mining waste into the East Boulder River. We challenged that. There was extreme conflict.”
Iverson and others proceeded filing lawsuits against the Stillwater Mining Company and the Montana Department of Environmental Quality in 1992, which litigated until 1995. The lawsuits were later dismissed due to shifting legislation, which were the grounds of the lawsuit, per Iverson.
“Essentially we lost,” stated Iverson. “We learned a big lesson about citizens protecting their communities.”
STRIKING BALANCE
“It came up again that they started a permit for the East Boulder mine,” said Hawks. “We had to decide are we going to go down this route again, try to raise money, and go to court. We didn’t know if we got through the lawsuit, if it would address the issues we were concerned about.”
Instead of litigating, the locals approached the mining company for a compromise.
“We’re ranchers and local people,” said Hawks. “We didn’t know anything about mining, negotiating. We knew that if you fight for something and work together…you can win.”
Hawks elaborated the group of roughly 20 residents hired a professional negotiator from Washington D.C. for a weekend training in Billings.
“We would not be here today if we had not done that,” he said. “You figure out what you need, what you are willing to give up, what they need.”
Negotiations between residents and the mining company began in 1999, per Hawks, who detailed rules of engagement including no cross-pollination with the press or lawyers, and a mandate needed decision-makers be present.
After a lawyer attended a meeting and red-lined the group’s demands, the residents walked out.
Both groups reconciled within a period of weeks, resumed negotiations without lawyers present, and finalizing a handshake deal, which was later solidified, according to Hawks.
TALK THINGS OUT
”There was no trust the first five years,” he said.
Hawks elaborated oversight committees were formed representing the mining company and residents. “It made us stay at the table and talk these things out.”
The group also hired mining experts and environmental engineers, paid for by the mine, per the rancher.
“Here we are 25 years later and we are still doing this,” said Hawks. “We do it because we love the place we live and want things done right. We have a right to protect our communities.”
Originally published here
