KS News

In 1988, when the United States Congress designated coastal southern Oregon’s unspoiled and magnificent Chetco River a Wild and Scenic River, they probably didn’t think they were preserving its wild character for future dredge mining; and when Congress designated the Kalmiopsis Wilderness Area in 1983, they probably didn’t think that their aegis would permit gold miners to helicopter placer mining equipment in the second the price of gold went up. Yet in 2008, this is where we now find ourselves.

David Rutan, owner of Chetco River Minerals Exploration, is pushing to suction-dredge up to 8 river-miles of the Chetco River, including three miles inside the Kalmiopsis Wilderness area. The Chetco River is federally protected for its wild, scenic and recreational properties. It is an important public resource for fishing and boating and is one of the last refuges for endangered fish and wildlife.

Suction dredging, a process where sediment is vacuumed from the riverbed, combed for gold, and then returned to the water, imperils these values by adding sediment to the stream, disturbing stream bed spawning habitat, and directly killing or displacing the benthic invertebrate community that is the basis of a mountain river’s food chain. In addition, to access the mining claim, CRME will need to get through the Wilderness area in some way. Any reasonable means of mine access will negatively affect Wilderness values. In summary, this project is likely to damage both unique river habitat and vital Wilderness.

On March 14, the Army Corps of Engineers will complete its solicitation of comments on the dredge permit that Mr. Rutan and CRME have requested for their mining plan. The Army Corps’ job will be greatly assisted by citizen input, particularly related to the non-mining values of the Chetco River and its surrounding area.

Please e/mail a letter today - Comments are due March 14

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SAMPLE LETTER (Send to all three agencies below)

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Michele E. Hanson
1600 Executive Parkway, Suite 210, Eugene, OR 97401-2156
Email: michele.e.hanson@usace.army.mil

Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, Northwest Region
Attn: 401 Water Quality Certification Coordinator
2020 SW Fourth Ave. Suite 400
Portland, OR 97201-4987
Email: 401publiccomments@deq.state.or.us

Oregon Department of State Lands
Re: Permit # 39736-RF
775 Summer Street NE, Salem, OR 97301
Email: bob.lobdell@state.or.us

Re: Suction-dredge mining on the Chetco River

Ladies and Gentlemen:

I am writing you today to enter my comments on the application to suction-dredge mine the Chetco River as proposed by David Rutan and Chetco River Mining & Explorations, LLC (CRME).

As a recreational user, conservationist and citizen, I am concerned that suction dredging the Chetco will damage its unique and priceless value as a regional and national treasure. As you know, the Chetco is a Congressionally delegated Wild, Scenic and Recreational River, and a significant portion of the plan is proposed to occur inside the federally protected and biologically rich Kalmiopsis Wilderness Area of southwest Oregon.

Motorized mining operations that produce silt, noise and water pollution are incompatible with the goals expressed by the United States Congress and will interfere greatly with my use and enjoyment of the Wild and Scenic Chetco. I am especially concerned that this project will produce significant water pollution despite the presence of threatened and endangered fish and wildlife in the Chetco River and its surrounding terrestrial ecosystems.

Nor do I understand how this proposal works from a business standpoint. The permit application suggests that the miners will access their claim by truck, helicopter or on foot, but there are no roads or helicopter landings in the wilderness area, and no genuine mining operation can be carried out over hiking trails. I do not think that such a hair-brained scheme should be allowed to go forward in the face of the overwhelming public interest in the Wild and Scenic Chetco.

In summation, I write you today to ask that you deny this ill-considered permit application. To allow Mr. Rutan and his company to operate a marginal gold mine at the expense of clean water, endangered species, Wilderness characteristics and recreational use and enjoyment would fly in the face of the numerous federal and state laws it is your duty to uphold. By allowing Mr. Rutan and CRME to progress beyond this initial permitting phase will only cost the taxpayers countless dollars in environmental review procedures. Please avoid ecological and economic waste by cutting off this boondoggle at the earliest possible opportunity.

Thank you for receiving and considering my comments

Sincerely,

NAME AND ADDRESS