Thursday, May 8 marks the 25th anniversary since environmental group Northern Plains Resource Council and its affiliates signed the Good Neighbor Agreement with the Stillwater Mining Company and its operations in Stillwater and Sweet Grass Counties.
Teresa Erickson was the director of Northern Plains at the time and says the agreement gave citizens a platform to give input into environmental standards, traffic and other impacts.
“Now, all of these years later, many of the same people are still involved in it. Relationships have developed. It still has tension and it should have tension. That’s I think a healthy sign. But we trust each other and we have learned so much,” said Erickson.
The Good Neighbor Agreement helped set up worker bus routes to address public safety concerns about commercial traffic and granted community oversight over environmental standards and the decision-making leading up to the company’s applications for permits.
Heather McDowell with mine operator Sibanye-Stillwater says the agreement also benefits the company.
“I think that the permitting has really been simplified by the time it gets to the agencies, because we’ve worked out issues that would otherwise be objected to,” said McDowell.
Citizen groups continue to contribute at regular meetings with Sibanye-Stillwater representatives.
