Groundswell of Citizens' Concern Over the Idaho Maryland Mine

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Call to Action

Groundswell of Citizens’ Concern Over the Idaho Maryland Mine

Leslie Warren, AEL Chair

Leslie is Chair of the Alliance for Environmental Leadership, a conservationist and economic analyst by profession. She reared two children in Placer County and is committed to protecting the quality of life and healthy environment her children were fortunate to enjoy. Leslie is a former Placer County Planning Commissioner, cofounder of Placer Nature Center and founding Director of Placer Land Trust.

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March 31, 2022

Speak up! Submit Comments on Idaho Maryland Mine by April 4, 2022 5: pm.

By Jeanne Wilson, Co-Chair, Conservation Advocacy Committee California Native Plant Society, Redbud Chapter

The Minewatch homepage

About the Idaho-Maryland Mine

Did you know that the Idaho-Maryland Mine is one of the oldest mines in our region, and previous companies have attempted to re-start operations before? The mine known as “Idaho-Maryland Mine” is an old consolidated gold mine that has not operated since 1956, located in Grass Valley. In the last 20 years, three different companies have attempted to make the mine operational again. This most recent attempt is by Rise Gold Corporation, who bought the mineral rights in 2018 from EmGold Mining and began exploratory drilling shortly thereafter. For a more detailed history of mine operations, check out Ralph Silberstein’s Union Op Ed and Rise Gold Corp’s History of Idaho-Maryland Mine website.

The Idaho-Maryland Mine encompasses two different project sites, the Brunswick Industrial Site and the Centennial Industrial Site. Together, the two sites total approximately 175.34 acres on the surface, and approximately 2,585 subsurface acres through acquisition of mineral rights. Additionally, the project requires off-site improvements that include a potable water pipeline that would be installed by Nevada Irrigation District and located along East Bennet Road. 1

Now is the time to tell the Nevada County Board of Supervisors what you think about Idaho Maryland Mine and the draft environmental impact report (DEIR) which is available online. Every comment submitted about this DEIR matters; the volume as well as content of comments may affect whether the Nevada County Board of Supervisors approves this project. The public has the right to review and respond to the DEIR. Concerns about the scientific and legal adequacy of the report must be raised during the DEIR review period. If concerns raised are not fully addressed in the final report, any decision the County makes may be subject to legal challenge.

Please send comments on the DEIR by 5 p.m. on Monday, April 4, 2022, to:

Mr. Matt Kelley

Senior Planner

Nevada County Planning Department

950 Maidu Avenue, Suite 170

Nevada City, CA 95959-7902 (530) 265-1423

Via email: Idaho.MMEIR@co.nevada.ca.us

How to Write a Comment Letter

If you’re not sure how to write a comment letter, read MineWatch’s excellent guidance on how to write a DEIR comment. Even if you are not an expert, you can make a valuable contribution to the DEIR review. Identify which sections of the DEIR most concern you. Though the full DEIR spans over 1000 pages, you can download individual chapters by

clicking “Draft DEIR in chapters” on the Nevada County page for this DEIR for separate links to each chapter. Chapter 4.4 covers biological resources, and has eleven appendices, labeled F.1 to F.11, which are the biological and aquatic resource assessments and management plans. Selecting “Draft EIR Appendixes” provides a separate link to each appendix. For more information on writing comments on the mine, see the full version of this article in the online copy of the March 2022 newsletter on the Redbud website.

Jeanne Wilson serves on the Board of the Californian Native Plant Society, Redbud Chapter. She is currently Co-Chair of the Conservation Advocacy Committee and Treasurer and served as President of the Board for many. years. She also serves on the AEL Boad of Directors and on the PCCP Citizens’ Advisory Committee,