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Mount Tenabo Action Page
The Western Shoshone and Great Basin Resource Watch have been fighting this mine for many years culminating in a legal challenge of the Environmental Impact Statement IEIS) and grounds of violation of religious freedom. We have bot had success on the religious freedom portion largely due to a bad precedent in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on a different case involving the Navajo. However, we have been successful in demonstrating to the courts (at the Ninth Circuit level) that the EIS was deficient and illegal, so the courts applied a partial injunction, which stopped groundwater pumping until the deficient portions of the EIS were corrected in a supplementary EIS.
Barrack Gold Corp in its quest to mine at Mt Tenabo is conducting a massive groundwater pumping process, which will permanently upset the spiritual balance of Mt. Teanbo.
We submitted extensive comments on the supplementary EIS arguing that plan proposed by BLM on behalf of Barrick to address impacts to the groundwater is a replacement scheme, which does not protect the cultural aspects of the water; the “water spirits” would disappear, further eroding the power and significance of Mt. Tenabo for Shoshone people. Even after these extensive comments and many others, the BLM has not addressed the core of our concern around the groundwater pumping: that the culturally significant sources of springs and seeps need to be protected. Therefore, on May 27, 2011 the plaintiffs (Western Shoshone and GBRW) filed in protest of the Record of Decision issued by the BLM finalizing the mine plan in the Supplementary EIS.
We will be back in federal court on October 6, 2011 in Reno Nevada to argue that the environmental analysis is still deficient and should be declared illegal. Literally, the Waters of Mt. Tenabo will be on trial.
Waters of Mt. Tenabo will be on Trial
Oct. 6 in Federal Court - Reno, Nevada
Support Protection of our Water
There will be a Water Honoring Ceremony - Bring water to offer
October 6, 2011 8:00 - 9:00 AM (before the trial)
Native Drumming, Prayer, and Song will begin at 8:00 AM
Thompson Federal Building and Courthouse
(at Liberty and S. Virginia St. in Reno)
Download event flyer
Download our full comment letter on the Final supplementary EIS
Download our full comment letter on the draft supplementary EIS
Download federal register notice on the Supplementary EIS here
Link to the BLM posted draft Supplementary EIS
Background on Mt. Tenabo |
