Buckhorn Mountain Needs Your Help by Sept 7

August 19, 2007

an Action Alert from the Okanogan Highlands Alliance

Public comments are being sought by the Department of Ecology for the last and most controversial water right for a large-scale gold mine proposed on Buckhorn Mountain.

Kinross Gold Corporation is applying for the right to pump out all the water in order to mine deep into the heart of the mountain. As a result, many of the springs and wetlands on the mountain would dry up and the headwaters of 5 creeks that provide water for fish, wildlife and people would be severely affected. Some impacts would continue for 15-40 or more years after mining operations cease, and others would continue in perpetuity since flow patterns would change permanently. This is one of the most damaging aspects of the large mine proposal and warrants a large and passionate outcry.

Comments will be accepted until September 7, 2007. Let them know you object to or protest the water rights, and be sure to request a waiver of the $50 fee for protesting the water rights. Tell them it is unfair that citizens are assessed a $50 fee to protest a water right that cost $10 to request.

Kinross Gold Co, in the name of Crown Resources its fully owned shell corporation, has applied to draw water from two basins that have been closed to new water rights since the 1950's because they have been fully appropriated. The company has applied for water at a maximum rate of 100 gallons per minute from 5 deep wells on the top of Buckhorn Mountain that would dewater the mountain to a depth of 850 feet. This is in addition to the other water rights it has applied for. The quantity of water requested is completely unrealistic for this location -- no more water is available. The mitigation plan can be found at: ftp://www.ecy.wa.gov/BuckhornNPDES

Send Letters to:
Department of Ecology
15 West Yakima Avenue
Yakima, WA 98902-3452

Email can be sent to Mark Schuppe: msch461@ECY.WA.GOV

Also send a copy to
Jay Manning, Director of Ecology
PO Box 47600
Olympia, WA 98504
JAYM461@ECY.WA.GOV

Basis for objection to water right:

Use Of Affected Waters Members of the Okanogan Highlands Alliance and others live and have senior water rights in or near the area that would be impacted by the proposed water use. They rely on the water for all aspects of life including enjoyment of the areas health and well being that rely on spring, seeps, wetlands streams and natural function that would be depleted if the water were granted to the applicant.

Lack of Water Available for Appropriation The cumulative impacts of this application along with current and future demands must be considered. To put these applications in perspective, most water right applications in the two basins for half a century have been rejected due to lack of available water. Ecology has long recognized that both the Toroda and Myers Creek basin are over-appropriated to the detriment of fish, wildlife and aquatic resources. There is no more water available.

Ecology is required to protect surface waters in order to preserve the natural environment, in particular, 'base flows' necessary to provide for preservation of wildlife, fish, scenic, aesthetic and other environmental values. These applications should be rejected.

Water Not put to Beneficial Use While mining and mitigation are generally considered a beneficial uses of water, the law prohibits the wasting of water especially when others water rights would be harmed. In this case, the applicant proposes to discharge water from two basins into one basin in quantities above what is purported to be needed to mitigate the impacts of dewatering. This is wasting water and prohibited by law especially is other water users and resources would be harmed . Further, the water that is being withdrawn and discharged below will be degraded in quality.

Not in the Public Interest It is not in the public interest to appropriate water, in basins that are already over-appropriated, that would negatively impact senior water users, and would not be put to beneficial use. The public has a paramount interest in healthy aquatic resources and the life that is derived from those resources. The speculative and perpetual nature of the proposed changes to the hydrologic system resulting from the preferential pathways created by the proposed mine does not fit the requirement that new rights not be detrimental to the public interest.

Aquatic Resources The application is for a very large quantity of water on the saddle of two watersheds that have been considered fully appropriated for over 50 years. Water currently flows both down the Myers and Toroda Creek basins intersecting and feeding numerous springs, seeps, wetlands and streams along the way. The impacts to these important aquatic resources must be fully considered, especially during drought conditions, when making a decision on these applications so that future generations can continue to enjoy them. Ecology has a responsibility to assure that groundwater withdrawals are protective of surface water resources. The application to dewater Buckhorn Mountain would diminish wildlife, fish, scenic, aesthetic, and other environmental values.

The Aquatic Resources Mitigation Plan (ARMP) is inadequate The ARMP fails to accurately describe the aquatic resources that would be effected by the proposed mine. The ARMP fails to offset the impacts described let alone mitigate the effects the proposed mine would have on downstream water users, aquatic resources or public interest. The application G4-34904 for 5 well to dewater Buckhorn Mountain should be rejected.

For more information contact the Okanogan Highlands Alliance:
David Kliegman PO Box 163
Tonasket, WA 98855
509-485-3361
kliegoha@televar.com