Trump’s new water rule: What it means for mines and pollution
There is most certainly gold under Ned Blackmon’s feet.
For months now, a rumbling carousel of rock trucks and backhoes expands the already expansive open pit mine at the 4,600-acre Haile Gold Mine here in Kershaw. The hunt for tiny specks of gold hidden deep in the Southern slate has sparked a gold rush among prospectors eyeing surrounding land – including Mr. Blackmon’s farm.
The rush to revive one of America’s oldest gold mines was only bolstered last week when the Trump administration replaced the Obama-era Waters of the United States rule with the Navigable Waters Protection rule. The revision reduces federal oversight over the ephemeral headwaters that feed into larger rivers and lakes, and ultimately Americans’ drinking water.
The Environmental Protection Agency once opposed OceanaGold's plans to expand the Haile Mine out of fear it would pollute over 1,000 acres of wetlands. Now federal regulators may not
A new gold rushTricky calculusYou’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.
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