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My husband and I raised our children in this area because we love the natural beauty of Nevada County, nestled in the pine, fir, and cedar forests of the Sierra Nevada. In 2006, after being gone for 15 years, we moved back to our Nevada City home, to be near our grown children and grandchildren.
On Mothers’ Day, we went with our extended family for a picnic in Memorial Park in Grass Valley. We walked over the footbridge that runs across the creek, laid down blankets, spread out food, and sat down on the grass near the playground, just as we had when we used to bring our own children to the park when they were little.
We were dismayed to see an orange cord strung up along the creek, with signs warning that it was polluted and hazardous. We tried to keep our son’s dog out of the creek and we explained to the little ones why they couldn’t play in it.
We later found out that what we had always called “the creek” is actually the “Magenta Drain” from the old Empire Mine, and that it contains thousands of times more toxic chemicals than are considered safe.
Soon afterward, when state authorities sent hazardous materials specialists to put a fence around the creek, they wore “haz mat” suits. Too bad such protective gear wasn’t available to the children who played in the creek during all those years.
We live in Gold country. The statue of the miner kneeling with his gold pan at the entrance to Nevada Union High School gives tribute to the history of gold mining here. Our children and several grandchildren attended Nevada Union and played on the school sports teams — the Miners. My son and his wife were married surrounded by rose bushes on the beautiful grounds of the historic Empire Mine.
Mining in Nevada County has left a legacy of both pride and pollution.
I am deeply concerned about plans to reopen the Idaho-Maryland Mine within Grass Valley. Emgold, a Canadian corporation with no mining experience, has applied for permits, commissioned studies, funded environmental impact reports, and hired “experts” to give public testimony. Publicity has included full page ads on the inside cover of the Nevada County Fair program guides.
I have yet to read the recently-released draft environmental impact report, but I have gone to several public hearings about the mine’s proposed reopening. If this mine is reopened, I believe it will degrade our air, land, and water for generations.
Runoff from the mine may contain toxins. Mine tailings containing serpentine could cause asbestos to be released into the air, exacerbating already-high asthma rates.
Other concerns include: Noise, traffic, increased use of natural gas and electricity, the overall viability of the project, and plans for 20 years from now, when the mine is closed.
Some locals support the project and claim that it will provide jobs and revitalize the area during the current economic downturn. Others oppose it, including me. A popular bumper sticker says, “GV (Grass Valley): No Mine, No Shaft.”
Not all Nevada County residents consider the time of historical mining the “glory days.” Many are concerned about the environmental effects of past mining. Local streams contain mercury, arsenic, and other heavy metals. Local lands carry a quarter of a million cubic yards of mine tailings, polluted with mercury, arsenic, and asbestos.
The Gold Rush was a disaster for native people. The local Tsi-Akim Maidu are working to raise awareness of the mercury pollution of our waterways caused by past mining. Their annual “Calling Back the Salmon” ceremony acknowledges the damage and seeks healing of the waters for the sake of the whole web of life.
Economic growth at the cost of the Earth’s natural systems is unsustainable. To sacrifice our quality of life, to further degrade our land, air, and water for the sake of corporate profits and a relatively few jobs is to ignore the real wealth of our community, based on these gifts of the natural world.
They are more precious than gold. God has entrusted them to us to care for so that future generations and all creatures can enjoy them as we have.
Sharon Delgado is a United Methodist minister living in Nevada City, who is Executive Director of Earth Justice Ministries, www.earth-justice.org.
On Mothers’ Day, we went with our extended family for a picnic in Memorial Park in Grass Valley. We walked over the footbridge that runs across the creek, laid down blankets, spread out food, and sat down on the grass near the playground, just as we had when we used to bring our own children to the park when they were little.
We were dismayed to see an orange cord strung up along the creek, with signs warning that it was polluted and hazardous. We tried to keep our son’s dog out of the creek and we explained to the little ones why they couldn’t play in it.
We later found out that what we had always called “the creek” is actually the “Magenta Drain” from the old Empire Mine, and that it contains thousands of times more toxic chemicals than are considered safe.
Soon afterward, when state authorities sent hazardous materials specialists to put a fence around the creek, they wore “haz mat” suits. Too bad such protective gear wasn’t available to the children who played in the creek during all those years.
We live in Gold country. The statue of the miner kneeling with his gold pan at the entrance to Nevada Union High School gives tribute to the history of gold mining here. Our children and several grandchildren attended Nevada Union and played on the school sports teams — the Miners. My son and his wife were married surrounded by rose bushes on the beautiful grounds of the historic Empire Mine.
Mining in Nevada County has left a legacy of both pride and pollution.
I am deeply concerned about plans to reopen the Idaho-Maryland Mine within Grass Valley. Emgold, a Canadian corporation with no mining experience, has applied for permits, commissioned studies, funded environmental impact reports, and hired “experts” to give public testimony. Publicity has included full page ads on the inside cover of the Nevada County Fair program guides.
I have yet to read the recently-released draft environmental impact report, but I have gone to several public hearings about the mine’s proposed reopening. If this mine is reopened, I believe it will degrade our air, land, and water for generations.
Runoff from the mine may contain toxins. Mine tailings containing serpentine could cause asbestos to be released into the air, exacerbating already-high asthma rates.
Other concerns include: Noise, traffic, increased use of natural gas and electricity, the overall viability of the project, and plans for 20 years from now, when the mine is closed.
Some locals support the project and claim that it will provide jobs and revitalize the area during the current economic downturn. Others oppose it, including me. A popular bumper sticker says, “GV (Grass Valley): No Mine, No Shaft.”
Not all Nevada County residents consider the time of historical mining the “glory days.” Many are concerned about the environmental effects of past mining. Local streams contain mercury, arsenic, and other heavy metals. Local lands carry a quarter of a million cubic yards of mine tailings, polluted with mercury, arsenic, and asbestos.
The Gold Rush was a disaster for native people. The local Tsi-Akim Maidu are working to raise awareness of the mercury pollution of our waterways caused by past mining. Their annual “Calling Back the Salmon” ceremony acknowledges the damage and seeks healing of the waters for the sake of the whole web of life.
Economic growth at the cost of the Earth’s natural systems is unsustainable. To sacrifice our quality of life, to further degrade our land, air, and water for the sake of corporate profits and a relatively few jobs is to ignore the real wealth of our community, based on these gifts of the natural world.
They are more precious than gold. God has entrusted them to us to care for so that future generations and all creatures can enjoy them as we have.
Sharon Delgado is a United Methodist minister living in Nevada City, who is Executive Director of Earth Justice Ministries, www.earth-justice.org.
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