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A nonprofit group called “CLAIM-GV” is being formed to look at the environmental, economic and safety impact of the Idaho-Maryland Mine if it were to reopen — with a bent against the project.
The group, “Citizens Looking at Impact of Mining in Grass Valley,” is up front about its viewpoint: “We do not believe that the Idaho Maryland Mine project (mine and/or ceramics plant and/or aggregate plant) is a good fit for our community,” CLAIM President Ralph Silberstein told The Union.
Joining Silberstein on the CLAIM-GV board are: organic farmer and Wolf Creek Alliance Vice President Mike Pasner, APPLE President Tom Grundy, small business owner Bob Bogart, retired biology teacher Ed Lucas, and Heidi Hall, an Environmental Protection Agency worker (Hall noted she does not represent the EPA in the group; she sits on the board as a private citizen).
“It’s the same groups that have been opposing (the project) but in a new (unified) fashion,” said Idaho-Maryland Mine President Dave Watkinson, referring to longtime opponents such as Wolf Creek Alliance and APPLE.
Still, Silberstein said the group can maintain an objective dialogue on its new Web site at www.claim-gv.org.
Some statements from mine officials and others “gloss over the information,” said Silberstein, a former Grass Valley planning commissioner, software engineer and environmentalist. “We’ll try to make the distinction between editorial comment and the facts.”
Silberstein said the group welcomes challenges to its statements from anyone, including Watkinson and other mine officials. CLAIM-GV said it also will investigate “any and all efforts to open any other mine in western Nevada County.”
Last week, an environmental impact report was released about the gold mine, raising some concerns about air pollution and other factors.
“The impacts outlined in the current plan cannot be sufficiently mitigated and we do not believe that the benefits outweigh these impacts,” the group said.
Watkinson, however, said the environmental impact report “is a very positive report for a project of this size. We’ll just have to analyze what the costs are” to address them.
The mine’s Web sites are at www.idaho-maryland.com, www.emgold.com and www.goldenbearceramics.com.
"We think we have a quality project that benefits the community,” Watkinson said.
Staff Writer Laura Brown contributed to this report. To contact Senior Staff Writer Dave Moller, call 477-4237, or e-mail dmoller@theunion.com.
The group, “Citizens Looking at Impact of Mining in Grass Valley,” is up front about its viewpoint: “We do not believe that the Idaho Maryland Mine project (mine and/or ceramics plant and/or aggregate plant) is a good fit for our community,” CLAIM President Ralph Silberstein told The Union.
Joining Silberstein on the CLAIM-GV board are: organic farmer and Wolf Creek Alliance Vice President Mike Pasner, APPLE President Tom Grundy, small business owner Bob Bogart, retired biology teacher Ed Lucas, and Heidi Hall, an Environmental Protection Agency worker (Hall noted she does not represent the EPA in the group; she sits on the board as a private citizen).
“It’s the same groups that have been opposing (the project) but in a new (unified) fashion,” said Idaho-Maryland Mine President Dave Watkinson, referring to longtime opponents such as Wolf Creek Alliance and APPLE.
Still, Silberstein said the group can maintain an objective dialogue on its new Web site at www.claim-gv.org.
Some statements from mine officials and others “gloss over the information,” said Silberstein, a former Grass Valley planning commissioner, software engineer and environmentalist. “We’ll try to make the distinction between editorial comment and the facts.”
Silberstein said the group welcomes challenges to its statements from anyone, including Watkinson and other mine officials. CLAIM-GV said it also will investigate “any and all efforts to open any other mine in western Nevada County.”
Last week, an environmental impact report was released about the gold mine, raising some concerns about air pollution and other factors.
“The impacts outlined in the current plan cannot be sufficiently mitigated and we do not believe that the benefits outweigh these impacts,” the group said.
Watkinson, however, said the environmental impact report “is a very positive report for a project of this size. We’ll just have to analyze what the costs are” to address them.
The mine’s Web sites are at www.idaho-maryland.com, www.emgold.com and www.goldenbearceramics.com.
"We think we have a quality project that benefits the community,” Watkinson said.
Staff Writer Laura Brown contributed to this report. To contact Senior Staff Writer Dave Moller, call 477-4237, or e-mail dmoller@theunion.com.
