HomeMy WebLinkAboutLetter from John Whittlesey - New Era Mine fu;v
27 May 2008
Regarding New Era Mine in Dry Creek Canyon and Planning Commission Resolution 08-24
Honored Supervisors Connelly,Dolan,Josiassen,Kirk, and Yamaguchi:
As residents of Dry Creek canyon we wish to voice our considerable concerns regarding
the New Era Mine as operated by North Continent Land&Timber Inc. My wife and I
have lived here since 1985.We raised our 2 children in the canyon(now 23 and 20 years
old).Most of the residents of the canyon have lived here as long or longer.As residents,
property owners and active members of the community we are very concerned about the
impact the current operation of the New Era Mine will have on the ecology of the creek,
traffic on Dry Creek Road and the potential impact to springs and wells in the canyon.
We agree with the Planning Commission that a revised permit should be applied for by
the operators of the New Era Mine,or a new permit applied for,if the Board of
Supervisors finds the 1982 permit has lapsed and is invalid.Requiring a revised or new
permit would open the door to an environmental review process. Such a process must
consider the potential impact to the continued health of Dry Creek.We need current
studies on the creek to establish a baseline for future impacts as a result of the mining
operation.An environmental review process would also consider the huge increase of
traffic on the road by car,trucks and commercial vehicles that now constitute nearly 90%
of the traffic on the road.It is very important a thorough hydrology study is performed on
the springs and wells in the canyon to better understand potential impacts that mining
may have on our domestic water supply.
We also think residents should be protected if, during the operation of the mine,our
springs and wells are negatively impacted.A sizeable bond should be posted by North
Continent Land&Timber to cover damages if our household water source is impacted,
either by being polluted by the mining operation or a reduction in the flow of water.This
is a cost of doing business. Should residents bear the burden of possible devastating
impacts without some assurances?
Throughout this process we have heard various government entities say they are trying to
`work' with the mine to bring them into compliance.This attitude suggests this is an old
mine needing assistance to be brought up to speed to meet current regulations. This also
points out that the mine is not in compliance with numerous laws,permits and
regulations.The real point is that the New Era Mine has been brought to life by a group
of out-of-state investors. It is essentially a brand new operation. It bears no resemblance
to the 'mom and pop' operation as previously run by the Logans and approved by Butte
County in 1982. North Continent Land&Timber Inc. has the money to do things right.
Instead of defiantly pushing their way through regulations and challenging every law and
regulation,we residents would have more confidence in them as neighbors if they
proceeded in a manner of willingly engaging in an environmental review process. Our
confidence in this process would be strengthened if we could see our government
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agencies not just`working' with the mine,but holding them to, and enforcing the laws
and regulations.
Their insistence of 20 yards/day of concentrate versus 20 yds/day of native soil and rocks
is an example of the huge increase in scope of the mine.Twenty yards per day might
have been adequate for Ron Logan to supplement his income. However,for a group of
investors,this is not nearly enough to make any profit on the capital being invested.
Using their engineer's figure, the concentrate is approximately 4°lo of native soil that
would mean processing a minimum of 500 yards of soil per day. If this is what they want
to mine,then this is clearly a completely different operation than the operation approved
in 1982.
We have serious concerns about New Era Mine as operated by North Continent Land&
Timber. The people involved in the mine do not instill confidence and seem to care little
about impacts to residents.The president of North Continent, Lee Ogle,was overheard by
our daughter, after the first planning commission meeting,that he was `going to sue all
the folks in the canyon and burn `em"That same day,he shouted to Tim Snellings"I
won't pay no bond!".To which Mr. Snellings replied"call me".To this date they have
not paid the revised reclamation bond of$267,000. SMARA law requires an adequate
reclamation bond to be in place prior to mining.They are,in essence,blackmailing the
county to get what they want by threatening to `cut&run', leaving the county to foot the
bill for cleaning up and reclaiming the property which has been severely graded and
stripped of all vegetation.The attitude of North Continent's owners,lawyers, and
engineers at the Planning Commission meeting was one of defiance,insisting
aggressively on their entitlement to mine.
There is a cost of doing business in a community.We the residents or the county should
not bear the brunt of a bad business plan. Despite the new operators of New Era Mine
wanting to show a quick profit for investors,this should be a minor concern in
governmental decisions made about the New Era Mine.A mine causes serious impacts to
the land. Especially when excavation is on a narrow property,perched above a beautiful,
viable,healthy creek in the headwaters of the Dry Creek Watershed.To see the current
operation after its exponential expansion,to look from above and see the severe change
to the 18-acre property and realize there has been no environmental review process,
makes us wonder why?
Thank you for considering our views.
Joh tt se
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527 Dry Creek Road
Oroville, CA 95965