Hearing set for Montana Tunnels lawsuit

Filed some 18 months ago in Jefferson County, the Department of Environmental Quality’s (DEQ) lawsuit against Montana Tunnels Mining is set to hold its first hearing next week as the state and county work to resolve their long-running legal battle with the failed company.

The suit, filed in Montana’s Fifth Judicial District Court, seeks to compel Montana Tunnels to pay $18 million it owes for environmental reclamation costs related to its mine outside Jefferson City. The state also wants to foreclose on the mine property and to sell it to another owner.

The Feb. 4 hearing will ask Montana Tunnels and its chairman, Patrick Imeson, to respond to a motion by Jefferson County, to which Tunnels owes $3.1 million in property and metal mining taxes dating to 2009. The County has asked the court to appoint a receiver to oversee the property’s reclamation and liquidation in line with DEQ’s intent.