About 1,000 parcels are in the vicinity of the San Juan Ridge Mine. The gold mine closed down in the 1990’s after drilling drained an area aquifer, causing twelve wells to fail, including those of Grizzly Hill School and North Columbia Schoolhouse Cultural Center.   Owners of the mine are now seeking to re-open the mine.

Gary Parson,  President of the North San Juan Taxpayers Association,  told supervisors yesterday the applicant promised no impacts to water the last time the mine was opened; and he would like assurances there will be no negative impacts this time around.  Parsons says the proposed San Juan Ridge Mine would operate in close proximity to a public elementary school, the areas only medical clinic, the community cultural center and businesses that employ more than 200 people.
Click here to listen to Gary Parsons

County Supervisors voted 5-0 to  execute a contract with PMC of Rancho Cordova, to prepare the E-I-R. The contract amount is just under $180,000. The San Juan Ridge Mining Corporation would cover the cost of the EIR plus an additional ten percent to cover administrative costs. The EIR process for the San Juan Ridge Mining Project is expectedt to take about one year.