Firm May Have Eroded Clinton Bid to Halt Mine
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NEW YORK — A mining company pressing to build a gold mine near Yellowstone National Park has apparently sidestepped a high-profile attempt by President Clinton to curb the project, federal officials said Tuesday.
Crown Butte Mines staked claims last week on about 186 acres of land, just days before the effective date of Clinton’s directive to impose a two-year moratorium.
Clinton announced his plans Aug. 25 while on vacation at the nation’s oldest national park, and explained his action the next day in his weekly radio address.
Clinton’s moratorium did not extend to the mine site but instead aimed at land where Crown Butte had proposed expanding its storage of gold-mine waste.
Opponents fear that a 70-acre reservoir behind an earthen dam--designed to permanently hold an estimated 5.5 million tons of toxic wastes and tailings from the mining--could leach into the area’s water supply, kill fish and injure wildlife.
The site is known for frequent earthquakes and severe weather.
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