Eminent domain amendment on mining goes before legislative committee today

A number of Silver City residents will go before lawmakers today to show their support of a proposed amendment to Nevada's eminent domain law that would remove the ability of a private person or business to exercise the law for the purposes of mining.

The current law on eminent domain (Chapter 37 of the Nevada Revised Statues) allows private individuals to take private land from property owners without their consent, for the purposes of mining. Testimony on this bill will be heard by the Judiciary Committee of the Nevada State Legislature today at 9 a.m. in room 2149.

Comstock Mining Inc., is preparing to drill in gold mining claim areas this year around Silver City, Gold Hill, south of Virginia City and the resource areas of Lucerne. The company, which is still in the process of getting additional permits, says it plans to employ 30 to 50 people for the projects, will put up $1 million for reclamation and will pay its share in taxes. Click here for news releases by Comstock Mining.

Comstock Mining Inc., insists that it doesn't plan on using eminent domain for their gold exploration or drilling plans in these areas. In a Feb. 3 Reno News & Review story, Comstock Mining CEO Corrado De Gasperis said the company has no plans to remove residents from their properties. “There’s nothing in our plans that need that,” De Gasperis told the newspaper. “The notion of eminent domain is insane.”

Nearby residents, however, aren't taking De Gasperis at his word. They've pointed to a Comstock Mining Inc. technical report on the Comstock Mine Project, Gold Hill Nevada, dated Aug. 31, 2010 where on page 86 it states: "The project willl involve re-aligning State Route 342...and relocation of certain landowners."

Earlier this month De Gasperis went before a Silver City Town Meeting of the Silver City Citizen Advisory Council and spoke about the company's efforts to mitigate the noise from the exploratory drilling at the Dayton Consolidated site, according to those who attended the meeting. At the end of that meeting, the following motion was passed unanimously by Silver City residents in attendance:

Whereas:
The following situation presently exists in Silver City:

For the past weeks Comstock Mining, Inc. has conducted core drilling operations within and immediately adjacent Silver City, Lyon County, Nevada. Drilling operations and associated road construction, pad clearing, and maintenance and support operations produce noise, dust, and traffic which completely disrupt the peace and quiet which are fundamental elements of our town. The noise from the heavy equipment is a constant, pulsing low-level roar punctuated by bursts of acceleration and backup horns. This all can be heard indoors and out, at almost every residence in town. This begins at 6 a.m. on weekdays, at 8 a.m. on weekends, and lasts until 6 p.m. Maintenance and bulldozing often begin earlier, and continue until after the drill rigs have shut down. The noise and activity are having an immediate and damaging effect on the quality of life in Silver City, and has the potential for serious negative impacts to property values.

We, the citizens of Silver City, respectfully move that the Lyon County Board of Commissioners address the following questions:

Why is an industrial-scale drilling operation allowed to take place within the Silver City townsite, an area designated in the Lyon County Master Plan as Suburban, and zoned for residential use?

Why is this activity, which clearly is the first step in a major mining project, allowed in an area in which such an activity is inappropriate?

Why are unrestricted earth moving and landscape alteration activities being allowed within the Comstock National Historic District?

Why are earth moving and landscape alteration being allowed without taking into account the potentially harmful effects on the surrounding area—effects such as drainage richand erosion problems, damage to the watershed, and disturbance of chemically contaminated mill tailings?