Coalition sues over lithium mine project at Green River

A coalition of water users, businesses and conservation organizations filed a lawsuit Tuesday in Utah’s 7th District Court, seeking to overturn a water permit given to an Australian mining company that seeks to extract lithium from groundwater in theGreen River.

Living Rivers and Great Basin Water Network say they have been working with community members in Green River for more than a year to ensure that groundwater, surface water, ecosystems, farms and residents face no harm from Anson Resource’s project proposed for the banks of the Green River.

The coalition’s filing targets a recent decision by the Utah State Engineer to approve a water rights application for the novel lithium mining operation along the Colorado River’s largest tributary.

State Engineer Teresa Wilhelmsen’s September approval of the water permit followed more than 14 months of regulatory disputes between the coalition, regulators and Blackstone Minerals, a subsidiary of Anson.

Blackstone’s filing with the Division of Water Rights was the first major push for water rights associated with lithium mining in the Colorado River system and arrived while companies throughout the western U.S. look to extract the element in arid regions.

“What happens in Green River will have a ripple effect across Utah, putting deep underground water supplies in the crosshairs of companies throughout the world,” said Kyle Roerink, executive director of the Great Basin Water Network. “The Green Energy transition cannot be a gold rush that impacts any water body in the Colorado River Basin. This important action ensures we get the best decisions possible for local communities targeted by companies looking to make a fast buck.”

Critics say Anson’s lithium project requires the use of billions of gallons of water — highlighting an emerging debate about the impact of the company’s drilling and pumping brine 10,000 feet below the earth’s crust.

Blackstone Minerals’ application for nearly 14,000 acre feet is a nonconsumptive appropriation. But that doesn’t mean there won’t be challenges, the coalition said, adding that nonconsumptive appropriations of deep brine groundwater can still lead to impacts on surface waters and surface water expressions of groundwater.

“The Green River and the Colorado River System deserve the highest standards of review when it comes to granting large-scale industrial projects touting unproven technology and results,” said Lauren Wood, trip director with Holiday River Expeditions. “Our coalition’s effort is about getting something we don’t often see in the waterways of the west: accountability.”

The coalition includes the Great Basin Water Network and Living Rivers.