New Exploration Work Plan Threatens Chesaw and Jackson/Cedar Creek Roadless Area

In an appalling display of cognitive dissonance, regulators continue to move forward with the environmental review for exploration to expand mining, while the Buckhorn Mine contaminates the water.

The USDA Forest Service, in implementing its policy of encouraging mineral development on federal land, sent out a map in February 2012, which depicts the specifics of where Kinross Corporation, “Echo Bay Minerals,” proposes to build roads and drill exploration holes.

Extensive road building and exploration drilling are proposed in two main clusters. One would be in wildlands on the edge and adjacent to the Jackson/Cedar Creek Roadless Area in northeast Okanogan County. The second is in close proximity to the highlands town of Chesaw.

The extensive road building and the development of the 19 proposed drill sites above Chesaw would obliterate the night sky and produce unacceptable noise for months. The road building and the 28 proposed drill sites near the roadless area would severely damage this special and unique area.

The specific proposals outlined in the work plan go beyond what was presented to the public in the scoping period. These areas were identified as being in an area where there was insufficient environmental review. The public was told that areas of specific resource conflict would be avoided. These are the specific areas where conflict was identified, and this work plan shows that the company intends to plow ahead, no matter who or what they impact.

In September 2010, Kinross Gold Corporation of Toronto, Canada, under the name Echo Bay Exploration Inc., submitted a revised "Plan of Operations" to explore for minerals on claims owned in the name of Crown Resources on public land administered by the USDA Forest Service, BLM and DNR. Since then, scoping has occurred, and a draft Environmental Impact Statement is currently being created for the proposal. The federal land is being claimed by virtue of the General Mining Law of 1872.

The exploration, proposed on lands surrounding the Kinross operating Buckhorn Mountain mine, calls for 675 new drill sites, drilling of 965 exploration holes averaging 1200 feet, operation of up to 20 drill rigs simultaneously and 24 hours a day; the construction of 33 acres of water conveyance and storage facilities; construction of 72.3 miles of new drilling roads, and the development of up to eight acres of ancillary disturbance.  DNR has assumed lead agency status for review of this combined exploration project.    

Echo Bay has proposed year-round exploration, 24 hours a day, for five years plus one-year reclamation, on about six square miles surrounding Buckhorn Mountain.

Location

Kinross proposed a "block" permitting approach to provide Echo Bay with maximum flexibility to decide where to place drill road. Some of exploration is proposed a mile or so east, south and west of the mine. The company claimed that there has already been sufficient environmental baseline information in this area.

Other areas include the hillside south of Chesaw; in the headwaters of Maris Creek; and a large block along the Gold Creek/Nicholson Creek Road bordering the Cedar/Jackson Creek Roadless Area. Here they recognize that they do not have adequate baseline information to know what the impacts would be, and that more review is needed to determine if it would cause significant impacts and before drilling could take place.
 

The company is requesting authorization to:

The current exploration proposal is not adequate to protect the environmental integrity of the area. For more information, please see the Fall 2010 newsletter, pages 2 and 8. Also, please visit the Forest Service website for scoping information.

Exploration Issues

Forest Service Recognizes Connected Actions ~ Will the BLM?

On March 15, 2011, the Forest Service responded to the Echo Bay Exploration request for a categorical exclusion that would have segmented the exploration project by creating a “separate” 2011 Drilling Program in an attempt to avoid full environmental review. The Forest Service concluded that the proposed 2011 Drilling Program “is a connected action to the larger 2012 Exploration Project EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) that is currently being planned...” NEPA makes it clear that connected actions should be discussed in the same EIS. Thus, the Forest Service has upheld this connected actions requirement and will not categorically exclude the additional exploration proposed by the company in December 2010. 

OHA has been pushing for the agencies to acknowledge the connections between smaller exploration proposals that are clearly part of the same larger project, and applauds the Forest Service decision.

OHA remains concerned that the BLM may consider additional exempt exploration via the “Notice of Intent” process. The law does not intend for portions of large projects such as the exploration being undertaken by Echo Bay/Crown/Kinross to be allowed to be segmented into smaller parts to avoid review. Projects must be reviewed as a whole in order to account for cumulative effects. Scoping on Buckhorn Exploration Environmental Impact Statement has ended. The next step will be a draft EIS expected next fall. 

Above: In September 2010, Kinross (as Echo Bay) moved forward with drilling after DNR approved just under the amount that would require environmental review. (Overlooking the Bolster Creek tributary of Myers Creek, wastewater from drilling)

 Back to The Issues main page