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Release Of D-EIS For Stibnite Gold Project Delayed

Midas Gold
The Yellow Pine pit blocks natural passage of the East Fork of the South Fork of the Salmon River, a barrier to Chinook reaching their historic spawning grounds. It's also a source of heavy metal leaching into the river.

The release of a draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Stibnite gold project is running behind schedule. The draft EIS (or "D-EIS" in regulator-speak) is a part of the permitting process for the Stibnite gold project in the Payette National Forest. 

 

 

The D-EIS was supposed to be out in May. Then, the release got bumped to August to account for added hydrology study. And now, after the 2019 government shutdown — the longest in U.S. history — a D-EIS for the Stibnite open-pit mine isn’t expected until December.

 

Completing an Environmental Impact Statement is a requirement under the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA. It’s a document that describes the environmental impacts of any given project, and alternatives to those actions. In this case, the project is to re-open and expand an open-pit gold mine near the headwaters of the Salmon River, about 40 air miles east of McCall.

 

Forest Service public affairs officer Brian Harris said even December could be a moving target, adding that it’s more important to get it done right than to get it done fast.

 

Despite the delayed release of the D-EIS, the Forest Service is still aiming for a record of decision — that’s the finish line of the NEPA process — by December 2020.

 

Public documents related to the NEPA process for Stibnite are on the Payette National Forest's website.

 

For more local news, follow the KBSX newsroom on Twitter @KBSX915

 

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