By Lynn Boulton, Range of Light Group Chair
In September 2021, the Inyo National Forest approved an exploratory drilling project on the north side of Hot Creek, about six miles east of Mammoth Lakes, California under a categorical exclusion. A categorical exclusion skips the step where the environmental impacts are identified, analyzed, and reviewed by the public. In October, the Sierra Club Range of Light Group along with the Center of Biological Diversity, Western Watersheds Project, and Friends of the Inyo filed a NEPA complaint against the Forest Service asking for an environmental analysis.
The exploratory drilling project will scar part of the landscape and force the imperiled Bi-state Sage Grouse and mule deer out of the area for the duration of the project. Since KORE Mining, the project proponent, will be drilling 1,476 feet into the geothermal groundwater next to Hot Creek in a faulted area, it could potentially impact Hot Creek. However, the most significant impact is that it allows KORE Mining to quantify how much gold is there across a broader area. This means the local community will be under a constant threat of an open-pit, heap-leach mine in a beautiful area treasured by fishermen, campers, bikers, hikers, birders, and photographers from around the world.
KORE Mining did not arrive before the series of snow storms hit in mid-December making the roads to the drill site impassable. One of the conditions of the Forest Service’s approval prevents KORE Mining from drilling during the sage grouse mating and nesting season, from March 1 to June 30. By then we hope to have a decision from the court on the lawsuit. If an environmental assessment is required, then the project will be delayed until the environmental assessment is completed.
For more information: https://www.sierraclub.org/toiyabe/range-light/blog/2021/10/kore-mining-drilling-hot-creek-oct-update and/or https://www.nohotcreekmine.com