Plans for proposed mine study sent back to the drawing board

Forest Service says an EIS may be needed

The U.S. Forest Service has made it clear that the next level of studies to evaluate potential molybdenum mining operations on Mt. Emmons will be looked at very closely. Even the proposal by the Mt. Emmons Project to do a “baseline study” will cause significant impacts and must be reviewed in detail, according to the Forest Service.

The agency believes the impacts of the study based on the proposed Plan of Operations could be significant enough to require an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). That process could take several months or longer than a year before a decision to approve or reject the proposed study is made.
In a letter from forest supervisor Charlie Richmond dated February 27, it is clear that the government agency believes the proposed studies would cause disturbance to public lands, and could “substantially alter the roadless character of an inventoried roadless area, namely the Whetstone Mountain Roadless area.” The letter goes on to state, “This is a category of action which requires the preparation of an EIS.”
The letter from the Forest Service to U.S. Energy vice president of engineering Fred Craft was obtained through the Freedom of Information Act by the High Country Citizens’ Alliance (HCCA).   
“This actually went pretty fast for a FOIA. Two weeks is pretty quick. Their justification was to track time spent dealing with this,” said HCCA public lands director Dan Morse.
The Forest Service contends using FOIA is the best way of monitoring the distribution of information. “FOIA helps guide the process,” said Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forest public and legislative staff officer Lee Ann Loupe in Delta. “In this day and age, it is a tool to allow public access to information. It also helps us monitor the workload on these types of requests. We know the Mt. Emmons project is a highly controversial project and this helps us to respond appropriately.”
The Forest Service position on the request is that the baseline study proposal as it stands will cause significant impacts. “We had a meeting with the proponents last week and if nothing changes when they come back, the proposal will probably need an EIS,” said the Forest Service’s project team leader, Mark Hatcher.
He explained that the EIS process is more formal than a standard Environmental Assessment (EA). In this case, “The impacts on the roadless area would probably trigger the EIS process,” Hatcher said.
Hatcher said that the timeline on an EIS is at least 105 days “and that is if everything is perfect. That never happens,” he said. “That’s if there are no comments and no changes. This is asking for some seismic monitoring and water monitoring and other studies. It is an expansive proposal.”
Hatcher said an EIS is more likely to take several months to a year or longer, depending on the plan.
“Our guys met with the Forest Service and went through the letter point by point,” said Mt. Emmons director of community relations Perry Anderson. “We are evaluating their comments and will rewrite the application and resubmit. There are quite a few comments to look over. At this point, we are not sure of the timing.”
Anderson explained the application went through U.S. Energy instead of Thompson Creek because U.S. Energy owns the mining patents.
HCCA’s Dan Morse is not surprised by the Forest Service comments. “If you are proposing to do things on a controversial project on public lands, a lot of accountability is required,” said Morse. “I don’t think that’s unexpected by Thompson Creek. Transparency and accountability are two elements to be expected in this process,” he said. “And there is a unique wilderness area back there. An EIS will be the best opportunity for the public to weigh in on this proposal.”
Anderson had said Thompson Creek had hoped to begin baseline testing this summer but now is not sure when the study could begin.
To see a copy of the letter from the Forest Service, go to www.crestedbuttenews.com and follow the link at the bottom of the online story.