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COMMUNITY MEETING FOR THE PROPOSED HAILE GOLD MINE PROJECT, LANCASTER COUNTY, SOUTH CAROLINA
COMMUNITY MEETING FOR THE PROPOSED HAILE GOLD MINE PROJECT, LANCASTER COUNTY, SOUTH CAROLINA ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT
JOINT
PUBLIC NOTICE
CHARLESTON DISTRICT, CORPS OF ENGINEERS
69A Hagood Avenue
Charleston, South Carolina 29403-5107
and the
S.C. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL
Office of Environmental Quality Control
Water Quality Certification and Wetlands Programs Section
2600 Bull Street
Columbia, South Carolina 29201
REGULATORY DIVISION
Refer to: P/N #1992-24122-4IA
19 July 2013
COMMUNITY MEETING
FOR THE
PROPOSED HAILE GOLD MINE PROJECT, LANCASTER COUNTY,
SOUTH CAROLINA
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT
Notice is hereby given that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Charleston District and South
Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC), have scheduled a
community meeting for Tuesday, August 20, 2013, at the Andrew Jackson Recreation Center,
6354 N. Matson Street, Kershaw, SC 29067. All interested individuals are invited to attend.
The purpose of this community meeting is to receive input from and provide information to
interested parties regarding the proposed Haile Gold Mine Project, Lancaster County, South
Carolina as part of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Department of the Army
Permit Application # SAC 1992-24122-4IA.
An open house will begin at 6:00 PM EST to allow a review of project information and individual
discussion with Corps of Engineers and SCDHEC staff. The community meeting will begin at
7:00 PM EST with a presentation of the proposed mine plan, a discussion of the alternatives
evaluation for the project, a discussion of the proposed mitigation plan received on July 10,
2013, an update on groundwater modeling efforts currently underway, a presentation of the
schedule for the public availability of the Environmental Impact Statement and other project
milestones, and an open discussion moderated by the Corps of Engineers. The meeting is
scheduled to end at 9:00PM EST.
During the October 27, 2011, public scoping meeting held in Kershaw, there were numerous
comments and requests to hold additional public meetings where the atmosphere would allow
for more dialogue with the Corps of Engineers. The intent of this meeting will be to allow for
open and informal dialogue and exchange between interested members of the Kershaw
community, the Corps of Engineers, and the SCDHEC. The meeting agenda will include staff
presentations and opportunities for discussions with agency personnel, including one-on-one
and community forum participation. With the understanding that the EIS process is ongoing,
the Corps of Engineers and the SCDHEC will be available to discuss any issues brought
forward to the extent that they can be responded to at this time. Note that additional public
meetings will occur at other project milestones, including during the review and comment period
following the release of the draft EIS scheduled for March 2014.
REGULATORY DIVISION
Refer to: P/N #1992-24122-4IA
19 July 2013
The applicant submitted a revised joint federal and state application on August 16, 2012, that
included additional properties allowing for reconfiguration of the project components to
minimize direct impacts to wetlands and other waters of the U.S. The revised project was
advertised by the Corps of Engineers in a revised joint public notice issued on April 9, 2013.
The proposed project, as described in the permit application, is to reactivate the existing Haile
Gold Mine near Kershaw, SC, for the development of gold resources, to expand the area for
open pit mining, and to construct associated facilities. The revised project encompasses
approximately 4,552.7 acres. Mining would occur in phases involving eight open mining pits
over a twelve-year period, with pit depths ranging from 110 to 840 feet. The proposed work
includes mechanized land clearing, grubbing, temporary stockpiling, filling, and excavation that
would impact 120.46 acres of jurisdictional, freshwater wetlands and 26,460.54 linear feet of
streams. Revised construction drawings provided by the applicant were included in the
revised joint public notice of April 9, 2013, and are available on the Haile Gold Mine EIS
website at: http://www.HaileGoldMineEIS.com/.
Haile Gold Mine, Inc. submitted a revised mitigation plan to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
on July 10, 2013. Mitigation is being proposed in the form of a permittee-responsible mitigation
plan that focuses on outstanding aquatic and cultural and historic resources. Please note that
this mitigation plan replaces the original mitigation plan outlined in the Original Joint Public
Notice issued on January 28, 2011. The applicant is proposing mitigation on three individual
sites: Rainbow Ranch, Cooks Mountain and Goodwill Plantation. The Rainbow Ranch site
totals 698.0 acres including 28.11 acres of wetlands and 19,714 linear feet of streams. The
Cooks Mountain Site encompasses 1,131.80 acres including 485.10 acres of wetlands, 28,292
linear feet of streams and 10,289 linear feet of riverine systems. The Goodwill Plantation Site
contains 2,559.00 acres including 1,048.10 acres of wetlands, 30,706 linear feet of streams and
29,560 linear feet of riverine systems. The mitigation plan proposes to convey land ownership
to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) Heritage Trust Program.
Additionally, the applicant will provide land management funding to the Heritage Trust Program
(Trust). The funds contributed by Haile Gold Mine, Inc. will be used at the discretion of the
Trust for improvements, long-term maintenance and management. An electronic version of the
mitigation plan is available on the Haile Gold Mine EIS website at:
http://www.HaileGoldMineEIS.com/pdf/Haile_Revised_Mitigation_Plan_dated_July_9_2013.pdf.
Please note that a draft Alternatives Development and Evaluation Report for the Haile Gold
Mine Environmental Impact Statement will be available on the Haile Gold Mine EIS website at:
http://www.HaileGoldMineEIS.com on August 5, 2013. Interested parties are encouraged to
review this document prior to the August 20 community meeting to better understand the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and Clean Water Act Section 404 b(1) Guidelines
approach to identifying and evaluating alternatives for this project.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information about this project, to be included
on the mailing list for future updates and meeting announcements, or to receive a copy of the
draft EIS when it is issued, contact Dr. Richard Darden, Project Manager, by email
Richard.Darden@usace.army.mil, by telephone: 843-329-8043 or toll free 18663298187, or
by mail: 69A Hagood Avenue, Charleston, SC 29403. Requests may also be submitted via the
project website (http://www.HaileGoldMineEIS.com/). For inquiries from the media, please
contact the Corps, Charleston District Corporate Communications Officer (CCO), Ms. Glenn
Jeffries, by telephone: (843) 3298123.
If there are any questions concerning this public notice, please contact Richard Darden at 843329-8044 or toll free at 1-866-329-8187.