BOISE, Idaho — The Idaho CuMo Mining Corporation hopes to excavate a mineral in the Boise River headwaters, near Idaho City.
This is the third attempt to make it happen. The last two times federal judges blocked the exploration project and asked the United States Forest Service to do another environmental assessment.
The only public meeting scheduled by the USFS to go over the latest assessment just got canceled.
"It's a complicated project," said John Robison, the public lands director for the Idaho Conservation League.
He said CuMo is proposing a four-year exploration plan in the headwaters of the Boise River to look for a mineral that is used to help harden steel.
"The ultimate goal is if there's enough deposits up there is to build one of the largest open-pit accessible molybdenum.mines in the world," Robison said.
Robison has several worries, mostly surrounding water quality and plants. Also, CuMo's plan includes creating roads to access the mine, which could cause problems because of the recent Pioneer Fire.
"There's a heightened risk of landslides, and so we're concerned about the mining company building roads across landslide-prone areas," Robison said.
He was looking forward to having public input on the project, but the only Forest Service public meeting for this assessment has been canceled because of the partial government shutdown.
The deadline to comment on the project in Boise County is Jan. 22, and that means the plan could move forward without a chance for folks to talk with the Forest Service.
"Unfortunately the federal shutdown also shut down and shut out the public from this important meeting," said Robison.
He hopes when things are up and running again the public meeting will be rescheduled and the comment deadline extended.
CuMo spokesperson Noelle Laury said they already had planned to hold two public meetings in Boise County next week. The first is on Jan. 15 at the Idaho City Community Hall. The second meeting will be at the Crouch Community Hall on Jan. 16. Both are scheduled from 6-8 p.m.
Laury said they're not required to have public meetings, but the corporation feels like it's important the community is informed and that they get feedback on the proposed exploration project.