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Action Alert:
Mining Company Threatens Chetco River
Please help protect this spectacular Oregon river,
designated as
Wild and Scenic under the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.
Freeman Rock, Inc. has applied for permits to substantially increase
instream gravel
mining operations on the Chetco
River.
Freeman Rock is proposing to remove up to 100,000
cubic yards of gravel annually (up to 500,000 CY over the five-year life
of the permit) from the Chetco River for the purpose of commercial sale.
Please email the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Ask them to require the preparation of a full Environmental Impact
Statement.
Project Manager for the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers:
Lisa Grudzinski, 541.756.5316,
lisa.a.grudzinski@nwp01.usace.army.mil
______________
Sample letter: (you can cut & paste into your e-mail and we encourage
you to personalize your letter)
______________
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
CENWP-OD-GE Lisa Grudzinski
2201 North Broadway, Suite C
North Bend, OR 97549-2372
EMAIL:
lisa.a.grudzinski@nwp01.usace.army.mil
RE: NWP-2006-927
Dear Lisa Grudzinski:
The Chetco River is a unique,
beautiful and ecologically diverse Oregon river system. The Chetco
has long been impacted by instream gravel mining. It is important
that your agency take the time to consider all the impacts to the river
environment from past and present instream gravel mining when
considering Freeman Rock's proposal.
Preservation of the Chetco River
is my primary concern and instream gravel mining has significant
environmental impacts, including impacts to fisheries, water quality and
the structural integrity of the Chetco.
The Chetco River is known for its
clear waters, natural environment, and spectacular opportunities for
outdoor recreation. These benefits are threatened by the
operations proposed by Freeman Rock, Inc. We ask the Corps to decline
this permit application and if this project is further considered by
your agency then a complete Environmental Impact Statement would be
required. Please include me on the mailing list for any notices
concerning this project.
Thank you,
Your name
Mailing
Address
Click here to read FLOW's comments to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
 Click here to see pictures of
mining operation impacts from Freeman Rock's on the Lower Chetco River.
Lower Chetco-Freeman Rock, Inc. Facts/Issues:
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Freeman Rock proposing to remove up to 100,000 cubic
yards of aggregate annually (500,000 CY over the five-year life of the
permit).
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Instream mining would occur using two primary
methods, bar scalping and trenching.
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Freeman Rock recently attempted to proceed with a
mining operation without a U.S. Army Corps permit. On October
18th, the Corps issued a Stop Order, which halted the company's
operation.
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The public should have the opportunity to comment on
key findings concerning instream gravel mining and the Chetco River.
There should be the preparation of a complete Environmental Impact
Statement, that fully satisfies the stringent procedural requirements of
the National Environmental Policy Act.
-
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) recently
completed a detailed analysis of a proposed gravel extraction at river
mile 2 of the Chetco River and held this clear opinion: "we determined
that gravel extraction in the Chetco River watershed exceeds natural
gravel recruitment and has continuing significant adverse effects on
designated EFH (Essential Fish Habitat) and the SONC Coho Salmon."
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Analysis by NMFS and in watershed documentation
(Chetco River Assessment) clearly states that instream mining operations
are significant and have a cumulative effect with past instream
mining operations. This cumulative effect must be fully analyzed
to satisfy the legal requirements of NEPA.
This project should be reviewed for its impacts on
the values for which the Chetco River was designated as Wild and Scenic
under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. The Chetco was designated
for its outstandingly remarkable values, specifically fisheries, water
quality and recreation. This project will impact both fisheries
and water quality, in particular fisheries that utilize the designated
Wild and Scenic length of the Chetco River.
NMFS has identified several impacts from instream
mining operations on the Chetco River, including: 1) Estuary deepening
2) Increased stream width/depth ratio 3) Chinook migration barriers 4)
Loss of hydrologic and channel stability 5) Loss of Chinook spawning
habitat 6) Altered Sediment Transport 7) Increased Suspended Sediment 8)
Siltation 9) Decreased Macroinvertebrate production 10) Decreased stream
complexity 11) Reduced pool quality 12) Increased bank erosion 13) Loss
of riparian vegetation and 14) Increased summer water temperatures.
According to ODFW, past Freeman Rock mining
operations have resulted in a destabilized river area, which has
"created an undefined channel, resulting in shallow riffle crests that
limit Chinook salmon migration during low Fall flows, and created
potential fish stranding areas where Fall freshets occur."
Instream gravel mining over the last several decades
has resulted in significant impacts to the Chetco river estuary.
As documented by NMFS, studying a 62-year record over aerial photos,
documented that mining operations in this area altered the Chetco river,
resulting in a river system "changed from complex with alternating
gravel bars to one with a simplified channel where the only shallow
water habitat is on the periphery of the channel. Associated with
the loss of gravel bars is the loss of backwater habitats which are
particularly important for Pacific Salmon."
Issuance of a permit under the Clean Water Act may
cause direct take of threatened and endangered species that have been
documented in the area affected by the permit application.
Consultation with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) on fish
impacts should be provided in detail to the public for comment.
C hetco
River
Information:
(from National Park Service)
The
Omnibus Oregon Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1988 designated 44.5 miles
of the Chetco River as wild and scenic. The Chetco heads in steep,
deeply dissected, sparsely vegetated, mountainous terrain within the
Kalmiopsis Wilderness. Over its 55.5 mile length, the Chetco drops from
3700 feet to sea-level as it empties into the Pacific Ocean between the
towns of Brookings and Harbor, about 5 miles north of the California
border.
The
Chetco River Assessment, which was completed in 1990, evaluated
all the resources and values on the river. This report identified
recreation, water quality, and the fishery as being outstandingly
remarkable values (ORVs). To qualify as an ORV, each value must be a
unique, rare, or exemplary feature that is significant at a regional or
national level.
Recreation.
The Chetco River and its adjacent corridor offer a wide diversity of
recreational opportunities. In winter, salmon and steelhead fishing and
whitewater kayaking are the primary recreational uses. In summer,
fishing, hiking, swimming, boating, camping, sightseeing and picnicking
are the major attractions.
Water Quality.
The Chetco's water quality was found to be an ORV based on its striking
color and clarity, its ability to clear quickly following storm events,
its contribution to both recreation and fisheries, and its contribution
of exceptionally pure and clean water for the domestic water supplies of
both Brookings and Harbor. The quantity of water in the Chetco varies
greatly throughout the year. According to the U.S. Geological Survey,
which maintains a water gauge at river mile 10.7 (Second Bridge), the
Chetco's average discharge over the 18 year period from 1969 to 1987 was
2,364 cubic feet per second (cfs). The maximum discharge during the
period of record was 65,800 cfs on January 16, 1971. The minimum
discharge was 45 cfs on October 21-23, 1974. During the flood of
December 22, 1964, which was before the official period of record, the
level of the river reached an extreme gauge reading of 32.25 feet, and
the discharge was 85,400 cfs.
Fisheries.
The Chetco River fishery, typical of Pacific coastal systems, is
dominated by trout and salmon. There are important populations of
anadromous winter steelhead, fall chinook salmon, and sea-run cutthroat
trout. Coho and chum salmon are also present and at risk from instream
mining operatoins. The Chetco provides excellent spawning and
rearing habitat and has some of the highest salmonid smolt returns of
any coastal stream in Oregon. Pacific lamprey, three-spined stickleback,
and assorted sculpin are also known to inhabit this system.
The
average annual precipitation along the Chetco's upper reaches is about
120 inches, decreasing to an average of 80 inches toward the coast. Most
of the precipitation falls between the months of October and June, with
a portion of that falling in the form of snow, primarily in the higher
reaches.
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