HomeMy Public PortalAbout2018.12.27 Midas CBA- EAC letter to Council 2018December 27, 2018
City Council
City of McCall
216 E. Park Street
McCall, ID 83638
Re: Environmental Advisory Committee’s comment on signing the Midas Gold Community Benefit
Agreement
Dear Mayor Aymon and City Council members:
The Environmental Advisory Committee’s mission to the City of McCall is to identify and promote a unifying policy of objectives for environmental stewardship and sustainability across
all City departments and for the ultimate benefit of the community. Under that directive, the members have examined the Midas Gold Community Benefit Agreement (CBA) and have concluded
that it is unadvisable for the City to sign the CBA prior to the United States Forest Service’s release of the draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) this spring.
Generally, community benefit agreements are contracts signed by community groups and a developer or industry that promise to provide specific mitigations to the local community in exchange
for an agreement that the community group either publicly support the project, or at least not oppose it. The purpose of a community benefit agreement is to provide a way for impacted
communities to participate in the planning process and can set measurable goals and establish a means for citizens to participate in the oversight and decisions about development or
industrial operations that can impact the local community, economy, and the environment.
The forward movement and operation of the Stibnite mine will certainly have substantial impacts, both positive and negative, on the City of McCall and Valley County. The basic argument
for or against the progress of the Stibnite mine comes down to financial incentives for the local community versus risks that could potentially negatively impact the environment and
the local economy.
As an advisory committee, we believe that caution in signing the CBA prior to release of the draft EIS is warranted for several reasons listed below, and that the potential risks of
signing the agreement now could be higher than the benefits. Specifically:
1. McCall cannot fully understand the full extent of the potential impacts to the community, its environment, economy, schools, housing, roads, and other infrastructure prior
to release of the draft EIS, and thus, cannot make an informed decision as to whether the CBA sufficiently mitigates for these anticipated impacts. Signing the CBA prior to disclosure
of the impacts may be sacrificing long-term environmental health and economic stability for short-term financial gain;
2. The CBA neither addresses mitigating negative impacts to the community, nor does it provide, through the Advisory Council, a binding framework to do so;
3. Signing the CBA makes McCall an implicit supporter and, through the Stibnite Foundation, an investor of the Stibnite mine and beneficiary of Midas Gold’s profits, making it more
difficult to objectively make constructive inputs following the release of the draft EIS or during future operations;
4. Though a public statement of support is not required by the CBA, Midas Gold has already used the signing of the CBA by other communities as evidence of local support for the mine
to leverage support and limit input during the review process;
5. Becoming an investor in Midas Gold and a beneficiary of future Stibnite mine profits creates a conflict of interest between advocating for McCall citizens against potential negative
impacts of the mine and ensuring the City’s actions do not delay approval of the mine or future mining operations;
6. It is not unusual for a mine to be acquired by another company once operations are in progress. The EAC’s view is that the CBA only legally binds Midas Gold, but not future mine
owners, to the agreement for the life of the mine, leaving McCall potentially exposed to negative impacts without any future financial benefits.
The Stibnite mine is the single project in Valley County that has the potential to have significant impacts on McCall and local communities throughout the County not only for the lifetime
of the mine, but for decades that follow. Asking communities to sign the CBA for a project of this scale and potential consequence prior to release of the draft EIS and the potential
impacts are disclosed is putting the cart before the horse. The EAC advises the Council to withhold from signing the CBA at this time.
Respectfully,
McCall Environmental Advisory Committee