Groups press for river data

HELENA, Mont. — Three groups in northwestern Montana are pressing for government action to gather water data for a river they fear will be jeopardized if new coal mining takes place in British Columbia.

The groups have written Gov. Brian Schweitzer and the Montana congressional delegation to request ‘‘immediate and direct assistance’’ in establishing baseline data for the North Fork of the Flathead River.

‘‘The risk of (mining) contamination of the North Fork River, Glacier National Park and Flathead Lake is significant,’’ says a letter from the North Fork Landowners Association, the North Fork Preservation Association and the North Fork Compact. The river serves as Glacier’s western boundary and supports rare fish.

Lack of sound baseline data on the quality of water flowing south across the international border means that ‘‘we in the United States may not know if and when Canadian mining activities contaminate the North Fork,’’ the groups say in the Sept. 15 letter. ‘‘Moreover, lacking baseline data, we may never be able to prove that mining activities in Canada are polluting the North Fork River.’’

New coal mining projects proposed in southeastern British Columbia include one by Canada’s Cline Mining Co., which wants to extract coal in the area of the Flathead River headwaters.

Montana’s congressional offices said Thursday that the letter had not been received, apparently because of delivery delays caused by the security screening of Capitol mail. Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., plans to again seek federal funding for North Fork baseline work, spokeswoman Sara Kuban said. A Senate committee denied Baucus’s earlier request, Kuban said. The governor’s office wants baseline data, and for a considerable time has been communicating with British Columbia officials on that matter, natural resources adviser Mike Volesky said.

Another transboundary meeting on that and other issues related to mining in the province is likely this fall, Volesky said.