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A new proposal to mine gold at Buckhorn Mountain by Crown
Resources is under environmental review by the Washington Department of Ecology
and U.S. Forest Service. The new environmental review will focus on what
environmental affects the proposed underground mining operation will have and
what permits will be required for its operation as well as what actions must be
taken to compensate for any adverse impacts to the environment. The review will
be a supplement to an original environmental review conducted in 1997 for a
proposed open pit mine.
The original environmental review conducted for the Crown Jewel proposal, an open pit mine at the same site, examined the geologic, hydrogeologic, geotechnical, archaeological, wildlife, air, vegetation, soils, visual resources, and threatened and endangered species conditions present at the Buckhorn Mountain location. Substantial differences in the project plan exist between the current project proposal and all of the alternatives studied and assessed in the Crown Jewel EIS and permitting processes. However, much of the technical information from the earlier studies is relevant for this project, particularly those relating to the baseline environmental conditions.
Click here for current project information (not a Department of Ecology site)