Buffalo Gulch gold mine threatens South Fork Clearwater
A proposed gold mine for the Buffalo Gulch area of the South Fork Clearwater was recently released by the Bureau of Land Management, Cottonwood Field Office. The BLM administers scattered lands on the South Fork drainage including land surrounding Buffalo Gulch. Both the South Fork Clearwater and Buffalo Gulch are listed as impaired 303(d) streams under the Clean Water Act. This means that Idaho Law and the EPA require that no further degradation occur in either of these drainages.
Site specific, project level impacts of the proposed mining operation have not been released as of yet, but an old Environmental Assessment prepared in 1990 has been referenced by the BLM. According to this document the project would involve a new cyanide heap leach mine covering several hundred acres.
As you well know the ailing South Fork has been under heavy assault again for the past several years. Currently, several big timber sales are planned and/or approved for the upper South Fork drainage including the Crooked American and Eastside Township. The cumulative impacts of these two projects needs to be addressed as do the the cumulative impacts of future mine expansion. The claim holding itself is far larger than the project area.
PLEASE TAKE ACTION by September 15!
The South Fork cannot afford a resurgence of incredibly degrading heavy metal mining. The effects of past mining still haunt the impaired South Fork Clearwater, home to threatened bull trout and chinook salmon. A cyanide leachate contamination would devastate the watershed. Please advise the BLM of your concerns.
Send comments to:
Stephanie Connolly, Field Manager
Cottonwood Field Office
1 Butte Drive
Cottonwood, ID 83522-5200
Email comments to: buffalo_gulch_mine@blm.gov [0]
RE: Buffalo Gulch Mine Scoping Letter
Talking Points
Idaho law and EPA regulations require that no further degradation occur in the South Fork drainage. The BLM is prohibited by the Clean Water Act (CWA) from permitting any activity that may violate water quality standards
The South Fork is a 303(d) stream as is Buffalo Gulch. Under the CWA, a new point source discharge affecting a parameter associated with the 303(d) listing is prohibited
Threatened steelhead and bull trout occur in the area as do Westslope cutthroat trout, spring Chinook salmon, and the Pacific lamprey, also species of great concern. Cumulative impacts to listed fish species downstream (fall Chinook) must also be considered
The 1872 mining law doesn't trump endangered species protections. Prohibitions under the Endangered Species Act must be enforced, even to deny mining operation
If cyanide were to leak into a stream from a spill, it would have devastating impacts on aquatic and terrestrial wildlife. In addition, the mine site itself poses a hazard to wildlife.
Cumulative impacts of the currently proposed and approved projects on the Upper South Fork Clearwater must be considered. These include the Crooked American and Eastside Township timber sales and the Buffalo Gulch mine proposal
Other Issues
The highways (Idaho 14 and 12) are hazardous and present great risk to the South Fork and entire Clearwater were a truck carrying cyanide waste to spill. There have been two toxic spills recently, one into the Lochsa River and the other in the Middle Fork Clearwater.
Air quality is a concern with cyanide, off gassing, and with wind blowing on waste material.
Treaty rights and recreation could be negatively affected by this project, especially if a cyanide spill or leak were to occur, as fishing in the South Fork is important culturally and economically. Since the completion of Dworshak Dam, the South Fork has added importance as an anadromous fishery.
Comment deadline: September 15