Lucky Minerals Responds to Recent District Court Decision of Exploration Permit
For Immediate Release
NEWS RELEASE
Mr. Robert Rosner Reports
Lucky Minerals Responds to Recent District Court Decision of Exploration Permit
Vancouver, B.C. May 28, 2018 – Lucky Minerals Inc. (TSX.V: LJ) (the "Company") Announces that it has reviewed the recently announced court decision on a challenge of a decision made by the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (“DEQ”) to grant the Company an exploration license in the Emigrant Gulch area of the Absaroka Mountains. Although an order in the case is pending, the court appears to propose that DEQ conduct a full blown Environmental Impact Statement on what is a simple drill program on private land.
The Company intends to support the DEQ in appealing this legally flawed decision that is a very dangerous precedent for private property rights and mineral exploration in Montana.
First and significantly, one of the primary obligations of the court in considering issues arising under Montana Environmental Protection Act (MEPA) is to grant substantial deference to the agency's decisions. A court of law should never substitute its judgment for that of the agency. It is well settled law that courts lack the expertise to make environmental decisions. This court not only did not recognize that foundation requirement in the standard of review, it went on to do precisely what is forbidden to it in disregarding the agency's predicate facts and conclusions in its decision in favor of Plaintiffs' view.
For example, in the wildlife section, It is telling that the record includes data showing wolverines and grizzly bears do not use the area at present other than passing through from time to time. Other data in the record show that 4-wheel drive vehicles access the area at this time and will be necessary to do so after the exploration program is complete. The court erred. In addition, the court totally failed to take into account that private land owners have the historic right to access their private property as access has been ongoing since 1890’s.
The court's analysis of water quality impacts is inexcusable. All of the measured data, from all of the surface water sources in the area show water of environmentally acceptable quality. The court compounds its error with an unwarranted assumption that artesian flow from boreholes will deliver contaminated groundwater to the environment. The court's conclusion is completely unwarranted and not supported by data or DEQ's conclusions. Most importantly as a matter of legal requirement all boreholes will be plugged and abandoned in accord with Montana law prior to the drill leaving the location, therefore it is impossible for any groundwater leakage or contamination to occur. The court's analysis is further flawed by its finding that drilling subsurface, sulfide bearing rock automatically means acidic water will be delivered to the environment. That premise is wrong as a matter of text book geochemistry, and disregards DEQ's specific (and correct) conclusion that no available data suggest the court's interpretation of the facts is correct.
The court's treatment of Plaintiffs' argument that the potential impacts from mineral development on Lucky's unpatented claim block is simply incorrect as a matter of law. The court erroneously adopted Plaintiffs' argument without question and incorporated it in the decision. There simply is not a "vested
right" to mine available to Lucky based on its exploration program. The Company believes the court is wrong as a matter of statutory law.
The court's treatment of DEQ's alternative analysis is wrong as a matter of law. This is particularly true where the court substitutes its judgment in place of the agency's findings and conclusions. Montana statutes and administrative regulations govern alternatives analysis and DEQ's actions in this area surpass the legal requirements. One of the court's fundamental mistakes in its decision is failing to recognize the proposed action is entirely on private property and of a very narrow scope. The exploration project is plainly a very small project with basically no environmental impact but no where in its opinion does the court recognize the actual facts of the matter.
The Company will work with the DEQ to vigorously appeal and overturn this unfair and biased decision.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
“Robert Rosner”
Director
About Lucky Minerals:
Lucky Minerals Inc.’s Emigrant Project is focused on the exploration and development of several targets located in the core of the mineralized and intensely altered Emigrant Mining District, an historically important mining region with exploration and mining activities stretching back to the 1800’s. Lucky Minerals shares trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the trading symbol LJ and through the OTCQB under the symbol LKMNF.
Contact Information:
For more information please contact Robert Rosner at (866) 924-6484 or [email protected].
NEITHER TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.
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