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In the Spotlight

Rules have changed, miners say; neighbors, environmentalists wary

October 20, 2011. RGJ: "http://www.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011110210345"

Mining has a conflicted history in Mason Valley. While it has provided steady work from 1915 to 1978, the land was left with an open scar after mining operations ceased--the massive Yerington pit. It's about a mile long, 800 feet deep and half full of water.

 
The new copper run: Yerington mining plans could bring hundreds of jobs

October 17, 2011. RGJ: "http://www.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011110160377"

Yerington looks a little rough around the edges. The small city with a population of about 3,000, the Lyon County sister city to Fernley, could be the poster-child town of rural Nevada for the state's ongoing recession, considered the worst in state history.

 
Mt. Tenabo on Trial

October 06, 2011. Associated Press: "Tribe battles BLM over Nev. gold mine in US court"

RENO, Nev. — Lawyers for environmentalists and several Nevada tribes urged a federal judge Thursday to keep in place restrictions from a 2009 court order that blocks the expansion of a gold mine at the base of a mountain that some Western Shoshone consider sacred.

 
Yerington Anaconda Mine

February 15, 2011. Associated Press: "Toxic Nevada mine lawsuit seeks $5M from BP, ARCO"

RENO, Nev. -- Neighbors of a toxic mine in northern Nevada have filed a class-action lawsuit against BP America and Atlantic Richfield Co. accusing them of intentionally and negligently concealing the extent of the contamination leaking off the abandoned site for decades.

 
Nevada Legislature

High Time to End this Gift to the Mining Industry.  February 16, 2011.  Las Vegas Sun: "Line of questioning a bad sign for mining industry" Senate Bill 86 to revise Eminent Domain Law

 
 
Protecting the Environment E-mail
Wednesday, 28 March 2007 00:00
An Assembly bill that would increase mercury emissions inspections at mining operations has been retooled to omit a required reduction in mercury emissions.Assembly Bill 115, introduced by Assemblywoman Sheila Leslie, D-Reno, calls for adding two new inspectors to the Nevada Environmental Protection Division. The additional staff will allow the agency to increase inspections - including unannounced visits - at mining operations to make certain that conditions are safe for workers and that the operations' reported mercury levels are accurate.

The bill, which has the support of mining companies and mining industry friend Gov. Jim Gibbons, originally included a provision that also called for reducing mercury emissions by 25 percent by 2012.

To move the bill forward without industry opposition, Leslie, who said her top priority was worker safety, removed the emissions reduction. Mining officials say the new inspectors would bolster enforcement of state environmental rules enacted last year that require mines to report mercury emissions annually. Surprise visits by the new inspectors should help make sure that companies adhere to the new rules, industry officials said.

Mercury is released during gold refining. Environmentalists say mercury emissions have poisoned fish and waterfowl in Idaho and Utah and possibly Nevada. Mining officials have said there are no conclusive links between Nevada's mining operations and elevated mercury levels in wildlife in Nevada or neighboring states. But state officials say there hasn't been enough scientific study to support or refute that connection.

Environmentalists, as well residents, who have suffered mercury poisoning from eating contaminated fish, told the Assembly Commerce and Labor Committee on Monday that the legislation would at least provide a step toward better monitoring of the industry's emissions.

We support adding inspectors, but that alone is not enough. A UNR study released this year suggests that airborne mercury levels are much higher than have been previously reported and that mercury levels also were high in mine tailings, rock dumps and leech heaps - areas not measured under the state's requirements.

The best way to ultimately ensure a reduction in mercury levels is to set limits and deadlines and mandate strict adherence to them.


All contents copyright 2005 Las Vegas SUN, Inc.

 



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