DRMS Comment Objection Intake - DEV 2/26/2023

Home Browse Search

Comment/Objection Narrative* After reading the Colorado Milling Company's(CIVIC)application to the Colorado Department of Reclamation, Mining and Safety(DRMC)for a 112 Designated Mining Operation near Gold Hill,several questions and concerns come to mind.CMC's application has a lot of information and is difficult to read. What are the expected long-term benefits can we expect in 20 years when CIVIC shuts down the Gold Hill Mill? There are hundreds of uncovered old mine tailings in the area.What percentage of these might be dug up& milled?Will CIVIC be open for business to accept tailings from anybody?Then,what do they do with millions of tons of spent mine tailings? The application's Introduction has a brief history of several Gold Hill Mill operators trying since 1986,without success,to mill gold and silver from the neighboring old mine dumps. From 1994 to 2003,the Gold Hill Mill operated with a Limited Impact permit from Colorado DRMS.After permit violations and improper disposal of toxic tailings,the mill's operator apparently walked away in 2013.The permit was transferred to CIVIC in 2015. In 2017,Colorado DRMS determined CIVIC had operated outside the boundaries of their permit.They tried to repair the mile-long pipeline that feeds water to their Gold Hill Mill.The water is taken from Lefthand Creek, then pumped uphill 700 feet. CMC's Introduction mentions a required specific condition.A"mine pool drawdown plan"which must submitted and approved by DRMS before any operations can begin. Shouldn't CIVIC meet this requirement before applying for the 112 Designated Mining Operation permit? CIVIC owns rights to 20 acre-feet of water per year. (Enough water for 400 households per year or enough to supply the entire Town of Gold Hill for five years.)Is moving and using 10-20 acre-feet of water each year for milling old mine tailings a wise environmental choice? Lefthand Creek stream flows are not consistent or stable.Longmont controls the stream flows.The creek is turned up and down like a water faucet.One day flowing slowly,the next day it's raging.The average flow of Lefthand Creek varies from 5 cfs to 20 cfs. If the proposed pumping station can pump more than 5 cfs, it is conceivable the entire creek's water flow could get pumped up to the mill.The downstream fish and aquatic life would suffer. We live one mile downstream from the CMC's proposed pumping site,on the banks of Lefthand Creek. Our water well is 16 ft deep, located 30 feet from the creek.We worry our well could go dry if the creek dries out. Transferring 20 acre-feet of water away from the creek every year won't help. Our house is down wind,downhill and downstream from the dust,dirt and runoff churned up during milling and mining.We were home when the tailings pond at the Captain Jack mine burst. Lefthand Creek looked like milk. It killed every living thing in the creek bed. It remains an EPA Super Fund site. It took several years for the fish to return. Now,CIVIC proposes a tailings pond directly above where we reside.They also propose a 3.9 acre outdoor"storage yard"to hold mine tailings. For environmental reasons, I am opposed to both. If a big storm were to collapse the tailings pond located above the town of Gold Hill,the damage to the watershed would be awful. It is not a good idea to have tailings ponds upstream of live,year-round streams. The Gold Hill Mill tailings ponds and storage yards should have drainage to the south and east, not towards Lefthand Creek. The planned tailings ponds would be a huge eyesore,visible for many miles. Especially when viewed from the mountainsides like Sugarloaf, Nugget Hill,Crow's Nest, Big Horn Mountain, Butzel Hill. CMC's proposed Reclamation Plan is simple. Bury it. Leave it for future generations. I have doubts CMC's proposed milling operations will succeed.Tearing down the existing mill,and if possible, reclaiming all of Horsfal Flats is a better option. Stephen Strand