Colorado still harbors hopes of revived mining with state regulators backing a problem-plagued May Day Mine project west of Durango that this week became the target of an Environmental Protection Agency lawsuit alleging desecration of mountain wetlands.
If problems are fixed, the state natural resources officials said, Wildcat Mining Corp. of Florida could move ahead with extraction of gold, silver and other minerals in La Plata County.
Five years ago, southwestern Colorado residents and leaders opposed the project, telling the Colorado Mined Lands Reclamation Board it was a bad idea. Opponents ranged from a county commissioner to Earth First activists who, welcomed by residents, warned of a looming ecological disaster.
But state mining regulators overrode public objections and granted a permit to Wildcat. Two years later, when pending violations weren’t addressed as agreed, state authorities still stood by mine owners amid calls for revocation of the permit.
The EPA lawsuit, filed Monday in federal court, accuses Wildcat of violating the Clean Water Act by dumping fill material without permission into Little Deadwood Gulch as part of a road work to reach a mine portal. The gulch seasonally feeds water into the La Plata River. The EPA also contends Wildcat improperly enlarged the road and built a wastewater pond in wetlands.
Wildcat has responded by negotiating a deal with federal prosecutors to settle the lawsuit, if approved by a judge. Wildcat would pay $50,000 in fines and begin work to restore the damaged creek.
“As long as Wildcat/Varca pay the civil penalty and comply with the restoration and mitigation plan, they can go forward with their mining activities from EPA’s perspective, though subject to regulation by (the Colorado) Division of Reclamation Mining and Safety and other state entities,” U.S. Department of Justice spokesman Wyn Hornbuckle said.
The feds said they’d make the consent deal available for public comment once it is published in the Federal Register.
Wildcat owner George Robinson did not return phone calls and could not be reached to comment.
Colorado officials said they will insist on correction of all problems. The Mined Lands Reclamation Board has ordered mine owners to stabilize the May Day mine portal, restore the gulch and conduct water sampling to ensure water quality.
“No mining is allowed until these corrective actions are completed,” state spokesman Todd Hartman said in an e-mailed response to Denver Post queries. “In order to do the required reclamation, they need EPA to approve a reclamation plan due to a prior EPA enforcement action over water quality.”
Potential economic benefits of revived mining don’t enter into state regulators’ analysis, Hartman said. The Division of Reclamation Mining and Safety “permits and regulates mining operations as
described under Colorado statutes and rules,” he said.
“The DRMS permitted the mine because the operator met the requirements of our statute and rules. We have enforcement actions for permit violations, which they are moving to correct. If violations continue or are not completed in accordance with the board order, the board will determine whether revocation or additional corrective action is appropriate.”
The permit remains active with the state holding a $204,562 bond to cover costs if Wildcat proves unable or unwilling to restore damaged land.
The May Day and adjacent Idaho mines are located near Hesperus in La Plata Canyon. Wildcat expanded the mining site with access to more than 240 acres. The idea is to reopen old gold and silver mine shafts and also explore for other minerals such as tellurium, which is used in solar panels and weapons.
A previous owner Mike Clements was involved in 2008 when an illegal road was cut to the portal.
Colorado mining regulators in 2011 granted the permit to Wildcat, overriding local objections raised in more than 30 letters that emphasized at least five violations of environmental laws.
“The environmental cost to society of an unpermitted operation exceeds that of a permitted operation,” state board members said in making their decision.
Two years later, they faced pressure to yank the permit when problems with the road and discharged rock and sediment in the creek weren’t addressed.
Colorado Mining Association president Stuart Sanderson said he had not reviewed the EPA lawsuit and consent deal.
The mining association “supports the environmentally sound, safe and responsible development of the state’s mineral resources, and the laws that exist to protect the environment and the public health,” Sanderson said.
“Enforcement processes exist for a reason, and we await the outcome of those processes. We expect all mineral operators in Colorado to comply with the law and to serve as good neighbors to the communities in which they do business.”
