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-36- <br />• MR. vILLAPONDO: My comments have to do with the inadequacy of the <br />emergency response plan that has just been turned in. This short plan was <br />received by the Reclamation Division on March 18. We got it last night at <br />7:00 p.m. We didn't have, you know, a lot of time to review this plan but as <br />far as we have reviewed it we find it inadequate. <br />We find it inadequate for the following reasons. It is not satifactory. <br />It is mostly,a manual for employees of Battle Mountain Gold on how to handle, <br />where to store and how to contain 16 different gasses, fuels, lubricants, <br />acids, and then on the table on Table #4 it states that they have 120,000 <br />pounds of cyanide stored. <br />The first one-half of this booklet, and I think all of you have it in <br />your hands. The first one-half of this booklet is an Operations Manual. The <br />next few pages, after page number 10, does spell out for Battle Mountain Gold <br />employees a few steps to be taken in case of a small spill or leak at the heap <br />leach. But, then again, the last few paragraphs very skimpily attempt to <br />inform workers about spill and emergency action reporting. It gives 14 <br />• agencies and individual's names and phone numbers to call and, I guess, that <br />is one of our concerns, too. We have big concerns about these. A big flood, <br />like I have experienced flood, in that valley cannot only fill your leach <br />ponds in minutes, but it can burst the dams that you have created and now a <br />big wall of flood water can. be worse than a gradual flow of flood. Concerning <br />your 120,000 pounds of cyanide that you have stored in your 40 flow bins, <br />according to this emergency response plan, that could be picked wp by a flood <br />like nothing. Even the wind can pi do that up like nothing. I have the <br />experience of a small tornado just last year that picked up rt~y, ;you know, the <br />roof off of one of ~ sheds which was 60 feet long by 26 feet wide. Floods <br />can rip telephone lines quickly. And it can dig up telephone limes <br />underground. And so we are concerned about what are the alternate means of <br />communication when all of our phones are down? This emergency response plan <br />does not lend -- it doesn't define that at all. <br />When and if the big spill comes, you say here are some numbers of people <br />that you can contact. Back here for example, supposing we conta<°ted the <br />sheriff or the mayor. He's present here today. What expertise cdoes Mr. <br /> <br />