Charleston, S.C. – Today, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Charleston District has released the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed Haile Gold Mine project near Kershaw, S.C. in Lancaster County. The proposed Haile Gold Mine project is to reactivate the existing gold mine, expand the area for open pit mining and construct associated facilities.
The FEIS has been completed for the proposed project as part of the federal permit application process and pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act. The FEIS evaluates the proposed project, as well as a range of alternatives, to assess the potential social, economic and environmental effects of the proposed construction and operation of a gold mine, in particular with respect to effects on wetlands, streams, and other waters of the United States.
“Our obligation under NEPA is to identify and evaluate all potential environmental effects of the proposed project and disclose them in the FEIS,” said Richard Darden, project manager. “We’d like to thank everyone who participated in the process and provided information and feedback to us.”
The FEIS incorporates and addresses comments that were received from the public and various agencies on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement. The FEIS is the environmental document on which the Charleston District’s permit decision will be based. The permit decision is scheduled to be made in November 2014.
If you are a member of the media and would like to receive a copy of the FEIS on a CD, please email your address to hailegoldmineeis@cardno.com. The FEIS can be viewed at http://hailegoldmineeis.com/documents.php. Printed copies of the FEIS will also be available at the Lancaster County Library, as well as the Kershaw branch.
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Release no. 14-0701