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TO MINE OR NOT?
by Lynn Wenzel
Even though we live in an area famous for gold mining, who among us has ever really thought about what the impacts of mining really were? As Rise Gold mining company intends to mine gold again in Grass Valley, Business & Professional Women of Nevada County (BPWNC) is presenting a program on the projected impacts of such activity. The community’s key concerns include impacts on health, quality of life and the economy.
For example, what about noise and air pollution caused by large trucks? According to project plans submitted by Rise, haul trucks will be a familiar sight on Grass Valley roads for the next 20 years. “These companies come along and want us to not notice they’re going to have a huge amount of mine-waste rock,” says Elizabeth Martin, retired CEO of the Sierra Fund. Rise’s draft environmental impact report (DEIR) says the plan will result in about 182,500 tons of material produced per year that will need to be transported and used as fill. As an example, a large dump truck can carry about 14 tons. “Multiply that by more than 10,000 and the visual is beyond most people’s imagination.” Says Martin. What does this mean for us? Thirteen-million, thirty-five thousand, seven-hundred and fourteen trips!
Maybe you’re not worried about the impact on roads or the environment. But have you thought about the effects on water? Your well if you are close to the mine? Dewatering, which can cause nearby homes, businesses and schools to lose water during the reopening of the mine, happened with the Siskon Mine in the 1990s. Rise has promised to replace the water lost to individuals. What would that mean—water bottles? NID? Do you want that?
Does noise or vibration bother you? Rise promises it will be “less than significant.” One woman’s “less than” is another’s nightmare. According to the California Environmental Quality Act, some areas will see increases of up to 2.6 dB. A 3 dB is about the smallest change in volume that most people hear easily. Are you concerned about your property values? A recent study found that rock mining operations significantly decrease property values within a 10-mile radius. What about traffic delays? Do you care about that?
And what about mine waste? Will arsenic and heavy metals stay put in the paste-backfill material Rise plans to use over the long run? What happens in the future when the mine closes and the pumps shut down? Groundwater will then flow in the backfilled tunnels. Low levels of leaching, especially when it rains, can continue for years, potentially contaminating drinking water or nearby rivers and streams.
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Josie Crawford is a biologist /botanist and the Executive Director of the Wolf Creek Community Alliance. She began volunteering as a water quality monitor with the group in late 2005 and was hired as staff in 2016. Prior to working for WCCA, she was the statewide Education Program Director with of the California Native Plant Society (CNPS), in Sacramento. Through her job, Josie sees the legacy repercussions of gold mining in the watershed every day and is more than concerned about what this mine could do to our community.
Barbara Rivenes is a representative of the Motherlode Chapter of the Sierra Club and sits on the Board of the Community Environmental Advocates Foundation. Barbara has worked with many local groups including the Nevada County Fire Safe Council, the South Yuba River Citizens League and the Climate Change Coalition. Barbara resides in Grass Valley with her husband, Don.
