[Water_news] 4. DWR'S CALIFORNIA WATER NEWS: WATER QUALITY - 4/29/08

Department of Water Resources

California Water News

A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment

 

April 29, 2008

 

4. Water Quality -

 

 

Opinion:

Mine leaders want it their way; ignore possible impacts

Grass Valley Union – 4/29/08

By Greg Martin- is an environmental attorney and lives in Nevada City.

 

Recent Idaho Maryland Mine information meetings sponsored by the Sierra Club and Wolf Creek Community Alliance have been well attended.

David Watkinson, the mine's executive, and his entourage (collectively, the "gold diggers") attended and their presence was welcome.

The gold diggers, however, apparently believe they are entitled to make their own presentation at every such meeting regardless of sponsoring entity, rather than adhering to the three minute question/answer format followed by all attendees upon program completion.

The gold diggers have been moderately disruptive at both meetings and stormed out of the Sierra Club meeting after their forceful effort to direct the dialogue was rebuffed.

A subsequent gold digger letter to The Union attempted to disparage work by the Sierra Club, Wolf Creek, APPLE, and others as "fallacious." Hard to believe, since the factual data is public information submitted by the mine through a consultant.

The gold diggers' rhetoric and confrontational stance at public meetings is, in my experience, unusual conduct for a corporate applicant with a major project pending before a local government entity.

Perhaps, the mine has some "inside" help. Eleanor Kenitzer, former planning commission chairwoman and current commissioner, is a mine employee with an office at the mine. Kenitzer is also chairman of the executive committee of the Grass Valley/Nevada County Chamber of Commerce. Simply to recuse herself from voting on the mine's project before the planning commission is wholly inadequate.

Is cronyism and backroom deals the way Grass Valley operates? Repeated calls to Kenitzer requesting she disclose the extent of her employment and activities for the mine with regard to her obligations as a planning commission member were ignored.

Citizens should be outraged at this blatant conflict of interest. Shouldn't local government representatives respond to their constituents' inquiries concerning matters of significant public interest?

Additional data presented at the Sierra Club/Wolf Creek public meeting should raise big red flags.

Explosive blasting at Idaho Maryland Mine will be huge. The mine's consultant compares the effects of a "typical rock blast" at the mine to the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake (magnitude 7.1) stating ground movement caused by an earthquake is over 3000 times greater than that caused by blasting (Master Environmental Assessment, App. C, "Blasting Assessment", Fig. C-6).

Per the US Geological Survey, a tenfold reduction in ground movement equates to a reduction of one Richter scale (logarithmic) unit. Ground movement 3,000 times less than Loma Prieta equals a Richter magnitude 3.6.

The environmental assessment states that the noise/vibration effects from the blasting will be felt areawide, concluding it would be "wise" to have all blasting conducted during daytime so residents will not be awakened at night.

Blast impacts upon Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital are specifically discussed because it is 1,950 feet from the mine.

Lasik, other procedures and certain surgeries could be adversely affected by the ground shaking. Are hospital administrators and staff members comfortable with this scenario? Would you be as a hospital patient?

Area businesses and residents will be regularly shaken (The mine plans to blast and crush 6.5 million pounds of rock each day). The nearby Cedar Ridge neighborhood is within the blast impact zone. Moreover, residual pollutants from blasting, nitrates and ammonia, likely will find their way into Wolf Creek.

The mine discharges to Wolf Creek are potentially devastating.

Dewatering activities will increase seasonal stream flows by a factor of 10 eroding the streambed and releasing long (safely) buried contaminants from historical mining operations.

No matter how well intentioned a corporate entity, one significant contaminant release into Wolf Creek (it will inevitably happen) will have disastrous impacts upon aquatic species and downstream agriculture including organic farms who rely on this irrigation water.

Many local farmers have been providing fruits and vegetables for decades. A single release of contaminants could spell catastrophic ruin for them. Buy local? Maybe not too much longer.

Based upon the Idaho Maryland Mine's data and a PG&E use study (2002-2006), the mine will consume as much natural gas as all of Nevada County and one-third of all electricity.

The Highway 49/20 interchanges at East Main and Colfax will become the mine's personal driveways for daily material and waste transport needs.

The mine is neither smart growth, nor good business for Grass Valley. No reasonable person would want a huge mine in their front yard.

It is ridiculous to think that the planning commission and perhaps, the city council are willing to displace and interfere with the operations of Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital, businesses and residents throughout the area, and jeopardize local farming interests, just so the gorilla can move in and take over Grass Valley. #

http://www.theunion.com/article/20080429/OPINION/656459879