Supervisors approve gold mine appeal
EL CENTRO — The Imperial County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to approve an appeal filed by several entities that force SMP Gold Corp., also known as Oro Cruz, to restart if desired its intentions to begin an exploratory mining project in tribal lands.
After a lengthy hearing, the board voted 3-1, with District 5 Supervisor John Hawk voting against the appeal.
Before the hearing began, Chairman Luis Plancarte — who has been in the industry for years — recused himself from the hearing, leaving the gavel to Vice-Chairman Hawk.
Imperial County Planning and Development Services Director Jim Minnick introduced the item to the board, saying the hearing was held to decide whether to approve or deny the appeal.
The county official said the proposed project site is located within the historic Cargo Muchacho-Tumco Mining District on Bureau of Land Management administered lands about 2.3 miles east of Gold Rock Ranch RV.
County documents show SMP Gold Corp. proposes to conduct mineral exploration drilling activities that would result in minor surface reworking of previously mined and disturbed areas.
According to the documents, Oro Cruz planned to conduct up to 20.54 acres of surface mineral exploration within a 626.3-acre area to locate and delineate precious metal deposits.
The project included about two miles of road improvements of existing roads, construction of approximately 6.2 miles of new, temporary 12-footwide exploration drilling access roads, as well as eight helicopter landing pads, 65 drill pads to support exploration in seven drilling areas, construction of 1.8 miles of temporary access roads, and a 2.8-acre staging area.
In Aug. 2023, BLM issued a News Release informing the approval of the exploratory drilling project, with requirements to take measures to avoid or mitigate conflicts with natural, cultural, and historic resources in the area.
Director Minnick said the Center for Biological Diversity and the Quechan Tribe of Fort Yuma Indian Reservation filed an appeal on Jan. 10 based on the project’s impacts.
Graham Stephens, with Sespe Consulting, said the drilling operation would have taken from 12 to 24 months in federal land, with plans to re-vegetate the area complying with U.S., state, and local laws and ordinances.
The Department of Planning and the applicant assured the project had no significant impact in the area, Stephens said.
The consultant, who was hired by Oro Cruz, went on to say the project has been considered for the last three years, in which the applicant spent a significant amount of money to prepare environmental documents.
According to Stephens, indigenous tribes were consulted for the issue to consider the drilling operation’s cultural impact.
The proponent also exposed the documents including over 462 pages of tribal consultation that also considered and addressed concerns, while the Planning Commission held four hearings to discuss the matter in the last seven months.
Hallie Kutak, with the Center for Biological Diversity, said in the hearing the documents fail to demonstrate the significant impact and to mitigate these issues.
The area, Kutak said, is used by the Quechan for spiritual, religious, and cultural ceremonies, while having become a bio-diverse landscape the project would destroy.
Another topic considered was water, as the proponents said the drilling operation would need 2,000 gallons per day without any identifiable source. Participants highlighted that Arizona law denies any interstate transfer of water, while the All-American Canal under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Irrigation District is far from the site.
The CBD representative called supervisors to avoid assuming the developer would get water from unknown sources by including the concerns in environmental documents.
According to Kutak, in March 2021 the authorities held a single assessment of impacted species that served to lead to Negative Declaration.
Kutak also said the applicant failed to provide evidence of the project’s impact on cultural resources, ignoring both the public and the county.
The CBD representative also said the authorities ill-conceived a project that included many unanswered questions, lacking substantial evidence of facts.
Wyatt Rosette, an attorney who appeared on behalf of the Quechan, said the assessment made had false premises based on erroneous facts while lacking evidence that was not considered.
The attorney added that California law demands parties in the case to include a meaningful assessment and consultation that did not occur.
Rosette also said meetings held with Quechan representatives did not comply with federal regulations.
Donald W. Medart Jr., Quechan Tribal Council member, told supervisors the meetings held with tribal representatives were held informally, failing to comply with federal regulations.
Medart Jr. said Council President Jordan Joaquin asked during those meetings if those conversations were held under the Government-to-Government requirements, being answered a “no.”
“There has been no meaningful conversation,” Medart Jr. said. “The environmental review is not based on correct information.”
The Quechan representative called supervisors to vote for the appeal and reconsider what he named “one-sided” documents.
A geologist with decades of expertise hired by SMP Gold Corp. said Imperial County is blessed with its natural resources and commended the Planning Department’s job in this case.
Both in its written response and during the hearing, the company’s representatives assured all concerns were addressed, calling supervisors to find common ground with the Quechan who have allegedly declined to meet and even sign a contract to house construction employees in the tribe’s hotel.
So far, the project has cost the applicant $2.2 million in permits, with some $250,000 being paid to the Planning Department.
The five-year exploration and reclamation program was expected to bring some $6.5 million, with five times that amount in economic benefit to the Imperial Valley.
Company representatives also said the drilling would have taken to mining activities if the site was economically feasible. According to the company, nine out of every ten of these projects fail.
Other issues, like protection of recreation, public safety, and water use, were yet to be addressed, company representatives said. However, it was clear the acre of water needed for the project would have come out from water rights holders once the appeal was denied.
Also, company representatives said Quechan has declined to sit and find common-ground solutions.
During the 2-hour 45-minute hearing, about two dozen people spoke for and against the project.
Former District 5 Supervisor Raymond Castillo was one of the few voices speaking for the project that has been under preparation since before the pandemic.
Castillo underlined the project would bring good-paying jobs — a fact that was later questioned as many or most of those jobs would be for Canadian citizens.
Imperial Valley resident Helena Quintana, who spoke against the project, asked supervisors to do their research about the significant environmental impacts of gold mining.
Quechan citizen Conan Nierenhaus told supervisors gold mining has had a bloody history in California for native Americans who were hunted close to extermination after the gold rush began in the Nineteenth Century.
“Our ancestors left us with this sacred place for us,” Nierenhaus said.
Jared Naimark, with the nonprofit organization Earthworks, said the environmental review fails to address the cultural impacts on the Quechan.
Gold, Naimark added, is sold for jewelry, contrary to other natural resources like lithium and other minerals.
Next, Gail Overton, who lives about two miles from the proposed site, said the project meant a significant impact on species, like the desert tortoise, and others that mostly live underground that the assessment failed to quantify.
Overton called supervisors, as elected officials, to listen to their constituents before making any decision.
Jonathan Smith, who spoke on behalf of the Quechan youth, urged supervisors to vote for the appeal due to the project’s impact on kids whom he called “men of greed.”
Ahmut Pipa Foundation President Preston Arrow-weed recalled that gold for native Americans was considered as snakes’ blood that was not of any importance to them.
Instead, Arrow-weed called supervisors to protect this land used to hold religious ceremonies in which smoke is disbursed to other mountains.
“Preserve what is left,” Jeanette Peterson said during the hearing, adding that tribes have no books to document their history, but instead use landscape to share oral traditions.
After recalling state law mandates government officials must treat indigenous people with respect and dignity, Quechan Tribal Council member Jonathan Koteen said the tribe has a connection with this land that is used for spiritual practices.
“I will put my life in the line to protect our people,” Quechan council member Sion White told supervisors.
Robert Waiwood, a geologist who locally worked for three decades on several projects, considered all mining projects added to represent less than two-tenths of county land, meaning its impact would not have been significant.
A few minutes before, Quechan member Faron Owl said the site is used by the tribe for religious, spiritual, and cultural teachings and ceremonies. He recalled tribal land covered for centuries from the Imperial Valley all the way north to Needles.
Quechan Tribal Council member Medart Jr. remembered native Americans were enslaved in the 1800s and forced to work for mining — a historical fact that had a negative impact “on our people” and became “a scar in our community.”
Medart Jr. also said trails built by the Quechan and other tribal communities in the desert southwest are used to get back to their land.
Daniela Flores, with the Imperial Valley Equity and Justice Coalition, said gold is not an essential mineral, and its extraction would affect the livelihood of the tribe.
Flores said a proposal has been made to the Joe Biden administration to declare the area as a national monument.
Representatives of the San Diego-Imperial County Labor Council, Comite Civico del Valle, the California Native Plant Society, and Greenaction also spoke in favor of the appeal and against the project.
Once the hearing was over, District 3 Supervisor Mike Kelley said the county seeks to move forward with sustainable growth projects that benefit people. The supervisor called to take the project back to the table and discuss issues for potential reconsideration.
After highlighting concerns and the lack of appropriate response to the issues, District 4 Supervisor Ryan Kelley also stood to deny the proposal, providing the opportunity to those involved to continue discussions.
Similar arguments were considered by District 1 Supervisor Jesús Eduardo Escobar, who went on to say the county should consider in the future an extraction fund that includes gold mining to build a trust fund.
While honoring the Quechan history, acting Chairman Hawk (whose district includes Quechan territory) said documents show no significant impact would come out from the drilling operations.
In the end, supervisors voted 3-1 for the appeal, leaving the company the possibility to bring back the project from the starting line.