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BLM and Coeur Rochester reach a compromise on EIS issue Print
Written by Dee Holzel   
Thursday, October 08 2009 00:00
WINNEMUCCA — The BLM and Coeur Rochester, Inc. (CRI) have reached a compromise that will allow the Pershing County mine to restart operations in a timely manner.  The BLM wanted the mine to complete an EIS (Environmental Impact Statement), but the company preferred to restart with an EA (Environmental Assessment), which would be less time consuming and allow them to strike while the price of gold makes mining viable.  The two were able to compromise on the issue following a meeting with the State BLM Director Ron Wenker.
The issue was being closely followed by local residents and officials as the reopening of the mine could represent hundreds of new jobs for the Pershing/Humboldt County area.  Coeur Rochester General Manager Cindy Jones said the company will eventually employ approximately 200 people – just not yet.  She said they’ve been inundated with phone calls from folks looking for work but wouldn’t start hiring until the first quarter of 2010 at the earliest.  The jobs would then be slowly phased in.  She added while they’re not accepting job applications just yet, when they do those jobs will be posted in local papers.

“We are looking forward to working with the BLM and getting this project up and running,” Jones concluded.

In a letter from Wenker to Governor Jim Gibbons, the compromise was outlined as follows:  “The BLM agreed to allow CRI, through a third party contractor, to prepare an environmental assessment (EA) for the proposed expansion of the Rochester Mine with the following conditions:  The EA must thoroughly and objectively address, analyze and mitigate “all” issues/impacts:  The EA/expansion will be thoroughly analyzed and discussed through an open public process; the EA must result in a Finding of No Significant Impacts; and the EA must be legally defensible.  Cri agreed that an EIS would be required if all impacts cannot be mitigated through the EA process.”

The letter noted the BLM would be submitting a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that would begin the process, to include a public comment period for identifying key issues and concerns that will later be used to draft the EA.  In addition, the BLM will also have issues and concerns that must be addressed in the EA.  Wenker noted, “The BLM and CRI will select a mutually acceptable third party contractor/consultant that will be committed to the expeditious preparation of an EA that will thoroughly identify, analyze and mitigate all potential issues/impacts.”

The letter’s cc’s demonstrate the interest in the reopening of Coeur Rochester:  a copy was sent to a long list of federal, state, and local officials.
 
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