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Idaho conservation groups sue over air quality permit for Stibnite Mine • Idaho Capital Sun [1]

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Date: 2025-07-24

Conservation groups in Idaho filed a lawsuit Thursday alleging the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, or DEQ, failed to protect public health when it issued an air permit for the Stibnite Gold Mine in central Idaho.

Attorneys for the Idaho Conservation League and Save the South Fork Salmon filed the lawsuit in Idaho’s Fourth District Court.

The lawsuit involves permits for Stibnite Gold Mine, where a company called Perpetua Resources has recently received approval from the U.S. Forest Service to resume mining for gold, silver and the element antimony at the historic mine.

Stibnite Gold Mine is located in the Payette National Forest, just outside the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness near the small town of Yellow Pine in Valley County.

Mining in and around Stibnite dates back to 1899 and contributed to the World War II effort. But mining ceased by the 1990s, Stibnite’s open pit mine was abandoned and the mine site and East Fork of the South Fork of the Salmon River was polluted with arsenic and sediment, the Idaho Capital Sun previously reported.

Groups allege toxic exposure risk. Perpetua Resources, which owns the mine, defends years of regulatory review

Officials at the Idaho Conservation League said the rocks, soil and dust at Stibnite have high levels of arsenic and that resuming mining activities would emit large quantities of dust and other particulates into the air.

“Idaho DEQ’s misleading analysis of arsenic emission and cancer risks could expose anyone who works or recreates near the mine to dangerous levels of toxic and carcinogenic pollution,” Idaho Conservation League’s Will Tiedemann said in a written statement. “We should be able to trust that agencies such as DEQ will protect the public instead of misleading us about public health risks.”

The mine’s owners, Perpetua Resources, disagreed with the lawsuit and said that the project has already successfully been through a rigorous permitting and review process that lasted for years.

“The Stibnite Gold Project’s Air Permit to Construct underwent years of regulatory review, refinement, and rigorous science-based analysis,” Perpetua Resources said in a written statement Thursday. “The Project cleared the high bar set by the Department of Environmental Quality because Perpetua Resources clearly demonstrated to the agency and its board that the project meets or exceeds all requirements of state and federal law and that the project’s emissions will be protective of human health and the environment.”

Officials with the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality issued a short statement about the lawsuit.

“DEQ is reviewing the petition,” the department said Thursday. “However, since it involves active litigation, we are unable to comment at this time.”

Permit exempts public Stibnite Road from air pollution protections, lawsuit alleges

Conservation groups that filed the lawsuit alleged the permit fails to include adequate monitoring and other safeguards to ensure arsenic and other pollutants are kept at safe levels. The groups also say the permit exempts Stibnite Road, which the public can use, from having to comply with air pollution protections.

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“Idaho DEQ continues to cater to Perpetua Resources’ attempts to bend the rules and disregard the risks from its proposed mine,” Judy Anderson of Save the South Fork Salmon said in a written statement. “Perpetua’s disregard is particularly brutal given that its workers will be living at the mine site, forced to breathe toxic air day after day. Time and again, DEQ has been given an opportunity to protect public health from toxic air pollution as the law requires, and time and again it has failed to do so.”

But the mine’s owners say the Stibnite Gold Mine has met all the necessary requirements for the permit and will operate the mine safely.

“Repeated legal challenges against the air permit have been rejected, underscoring the integrity of the permitting process,” Perpetua Resources said. “This latest judicial appeal represents yet another attempt by the same organization to reuse previously discredited claims and sow fear and uncertainty.”

The company added it is committed to ensuring the mine protects “human health and the environment.”

“Our efforts over the past 14 years clearly demonstrate we take every opportunity to advance the public interest in many ways, including improving environmental conditions, creating positive outcomes for the communities around us, and supporting the United States’ goals and policies regarding national defense, critical minerals, and supply chain resiliency,” Perpetua Resources said.

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[1] Url: https://idahocapitalsun.com/2025/07/24/idaho-conservation-groups-sue-over-air-quality-permit-for-stibnite-mine/

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