Skip to content

Eyewitness Testimony of Blue Lead Neighbor Rita Jennings

Eyewitness Testimony of Blue Lead Neighbor Rita Jennings

April 25, 2010 SVadmin Comments 0 Comment

Almost no one from the neighborhood of the Blue Lead Mine ((Pronounced “blue leed … “)), much less any other affected citizen of Nevada County, was present at the meeting of the Nevada County Planning Commission on March 25th, when Blue Lead’s application for “vested right to mine” was considered and provisionally approved.  The reason for the scant public turnout was the poor — though nominally proper ((The meeting notices are effectively buried obscurely in the newspaper among other hard-to-read legal notices. The meeting agendas are posted online a few days prior to each meeting.)) — prior notification of the meeting.

A significant exception was Rita Jennings, who is a neighbor of Blue Lead and was present at the March 25th meeting. Her subsequent letter ((Comments re Blue Lead’s bid for “Vested” mining rights in the PlanningCommission meeting of March 25, 2010 in email from Rita Jennings to Jessica Hankins, Planner. Notice that the Docushare directory in which this letter is available online also contains other interesting public comments.)) to the commissioners — printed below — thus makes very interesting reading.

Notice the sad irony in her letter when she says that “neighbors of mining properties lose many of their rights with a ‘vested’ designation.” And later she says that “to deny our neighborhood ‘vested’ rights as long-term residential property owners is unjust.” Could this also constitute a legitimate “takings” claim in law?

To the Nevada County Planning Commissioners:

I attended the March 25 hearing for Blue Lead’s bid for vested mining, and immediately noticed that I was the only non-mining attendee from my neighborhood. Later I queried a few neighbors. Only one other knew of the hearing. Planner Jessica Hankins assured me that everyone within the required distance of the Blue Lead operation had been notified. This, as I recall, was 500 or 1000 feet. This makes little sense in a neighborhood measured by acres, not feet. The 75 acres owned by Blue Lead is part of the larger 1100+ acres of “diggins” historically mined in the distant past, and vesting will likely set a precedent for the whole.

The same parties who sold the Blue Lead to the Whites are now promoting further parcel sales of the original 1100 acres with “vesting” as a carrot:

http://www.advancedgeologic.com/AGE/Gold_Exploration/Gold_Claims/You_Bet/You_Bet.html

Neighbors who live only 1/4 mile from the “diggins” will be affected by any Planning Commission decision applied to the Blue Lead operation, which is more than a mile away. Thus we neighbors did not receive sufficient and appropriate notice. I have lived in this neighborhood since 1976 and have no knowledge of any mining activity whatsoever occurring in the 1100 acres. I met various Brady’s and also Lyle White during this time. No one spoke of doing any mining. Because the “diggins” functions like an “echo chamber”, I assure you that all of us would have heard any significant mining operation. We hear un-muffled motorcycles and shooting from miles away. Furthermore, the natural tendency of off-road enthusiasts to explore every possible trail would have led to some kind of conflict with a mining operation. I believe Tucker White can attest to this on his own property (and I give him credit for having both the courage and where-with-all to stand down the motorcycle incursion).

At the hearing, one of the commissioners explained that she toured the Blue Lead site and found it both ugly and “obviously” mining property. She apparently did not tour “all” of the “diggins”, parts of which are enchantingly beautiful. Those who live in the Red Dog-You Bet environs do not see our back yard as “ugly”, rather as land which has been horrifically mistreated. In fact, we have been fighting for over 30 years to keep ATV/OHV’s off private property and County road, which have been further ravaged by illegal vehicular traffic. Most of us care deeply about what happens to the land in our back yards. As mentioned above, noise from around the diggins can be horrendous due to the echo factor. Scientists have visited and studied how sound waves vibrate across exposed quartz landscapes.

I was disappointed in the hearing that the ramifications of a “vested” vs. “non-vested” designation were neither clearly understood or explained by the Commission. What was implied, from my understanding, is that neighbors of mining properties lose many of their rights with a “vested” designation. Does this mean that we have no recourse for environmental noise and road traffic/road degradation? Or for hours of operation? Does this further mean that the trees, which have had some time to re-establish themselves and lend a eerie beauty to the landscape, can summarily be removed?

Forgive me if I missed this point, but I don’t recall that any Planning Commissioner addressed the precedent raised by Ms. Hankins and Ms. Mayberry that, in the 1980’s, the County rigorously determined which properties were actively mining. The “diggins” was not thus identified in either pass. Why does this not stand as “evidence of abandonment” in the minds of the commissioners?

Finally, for the sake of brevity, as a member of the audience I could not understand why the commissioners contended they “had no choice” but to vote for the vested designation. As I witnessed Mr. Chadwick’s presentation, his graphically depicting “burden of proof” impressed me as a lawyer’s ploy to convince you/us that he had more evidence of timely and continuous mining than was actually the case. It is my hope that one of my neighbors, more expert on the history of mining in this area, can convince you that Mr. Chadwick’s evidence was not appropriately researched (and obviously slanted toward Blue Lead’s case). At times I was horrified by implications which should have prompted an “I object” from the opposing attorney in a court of law.

I do not deny miner’s rights to mine. But given the historical rape of this land from mining, before anyone can raise another pick in our back yard they must be required to follow modern enlightened mining practices/permits/regulations which have been determined as right and fair to both the environment and neighbors. To deny our neighborhood “vested” rights as long-term residential property owners is unjust and a move towards the lawless detrimental mining practices of the past. Consider the behavior of the Blue Lead owners in neighboring Plumas County, with their similar attempts here! Nevada County should be embarrassed for the lack of stewardship should they approve “vesting” per scant evidence. As one who has had to deal with the OHV problem without support of law enforcement for the majority of the time, I assure you that we locals do not deserve to take on further vigilance in regards to mining operations. We need the full participation of all possible monitoring agencies, particularly those within the county.

I urge you to reconsider the evidence, and find the Blue Lead bid for “vesting” to be both historically and morally unjustified.

Thank-you.
Rita Jennings

See all Sierra Voices articles on Blue Lead here.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Blog, Local
Blue Lead Mine, LocalJournalism, Vested Right to Mine

Post navigation

PREVIOUS
Dave Comstock Testifies to Planning Commission (video)
NEXT
Excerpts from J. Pelton’s Letter Re Blue Lead Mine

Join Our Mailing List

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.

DONATE TO THE FOOD BANK OF NEVADA COUNTY

(CLICK IMAGE)

DONATE TO NEVADA COUNTY RELIEF FUND (click image below)

Erika Lewis, Shaye Cohn, Craig Flory – Got A Mind To Ramble

Jack Kornfield: A Steady Heart in Time of Corona Virus (Part I)

Tara Brach: A Steady Heart in Time of Corona Virus (Part II)

Subscribe to Sierra Voices Journal

Recent Posts

  • ‘The People Are Demanding Action’: Incoming Senate Budget Chair Bernie Sanders Lays Out Visionary First 100 Days for Biden
  • Timothy Snyder: “It was clear to me in October that Trump’s behavior presaged a coup, and I said so in print”
  • The Most Urgent Issue in U.S. Politics is Not Biden or Trump, Not Who is President This Time
  • How can America heal from the Trump era? Lessons from Germany’s transformation into a prosperous democracy after Nazi rule
  • We Need More in Congress Like Jamie Raskin

Recent Comments

  • Douglas Keachie on The Most Urgent Issue in U.S. Politics is Not Biden or Trump, Not Who is President This Time
  • The Most Important Issue in US Politics is Not Biden or Trump, or Even Who is President This Time on How to stop an Insurrection Caucus: These reforms could reduce GOP extremism and save our democracy
  • (Posted by) Don Pelton on GOP Warns Dems About Court Packing (Cartoon)
  • Criminal Incompetence, Malignant Ignorance Will Lead to Hunger and Violence on A Nice Depression Now Benefits the GOP in 2022 and 2024
  • togel singapura hari ini on How Wall Street Has Turned Housing Into a Dangerous Get-Rich-Quick Scheme — Again

Archives

  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • November 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • December 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • January 2014
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • September 2009
  • August 2009

Categories

  • Aging
  • Articles
  • Atlas Obscura
  • Authoritarianism
  • Black Lives
  • Black Lives Matter
  • Blog
  • Buddhism
  • Cartoon
  • Climate Change
  • Constitution
  • Corona Virus
  • Corruption
  • Depression
  • Disenfranchisement
  • Economics
  • Education
  • Election Fraud
  • Environment
  • Farming
  • Fascism
  • Fire!
  • Food Insecurity
  • Foreign Policy
  • Forest Management
  • Gender
  • Health Care
  • History
  • Humor
  • Hunger
  • Ignorance
  • Labor
  • Local
  • Masks
  • Medical Care
  • Men
  • Mental Health
  • Middle Class
  • Mining
  • MMT
  • Modern Monetary Theory
  • Music
  • Native Americans
  • Pandemic
  • Parenting
  • Poetry
  • Police
  • Politics
  • Press
  • Race
  • Reviews
  • Revolution
  • Right-wing terrorism
  • Russiagate
  • Science
  • Technology
  • Trump Virus
  • Tyranny
  • Uncategorized
  • Voting
  • War
  • War on Government
  • Water
  • Watersheds
  • Wildfires

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org
© 2021   All Rights Reserved.