By Mark Waite
Nye County will file a protest to an application by White Caps Gold Mining Inc. to divert water near the only well in Manhattan found to meet new, federal arsenic standards.
Nye County already completed phase I of a water system to Manhattan that included drilling a well and connecting it to a distribution system. Phase II includes building a water tank and piping.
The $1.8 million Manhattan water project will supply water to 97 accounts, only 45 of which are active in the historic mining town.
Nye County obtained a $965,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture grant, a $299,000 low interest loan and provided $500,000 of county money from the Payment Equal to Taxes for the Yucca Mountain project.
The mining company filed to divert up to 322 acre feet of water per year for mining and milling operations 2,300 feet from the point of diversion for the Pipe Springs Well used for the Manhattan water supply.
The county protest states the diversion could adversely impact the county’s existing rights and potentially has the irreversible impact of degrading the water quality.
White Caps’ Manhattan Mill will extract gold from historic mill and mining stockpiles and dumps, including a previously abandoned heap leach facility, the company states. The mill, one mile from Manhattan and 6.8 miles east of the intersection of Highways 376 and 377, will process less than 36,500 tons of ore per year, operating 24 hours per day, 365 days per year; the company expects to complete mining in four to six years.
White Caps will use the April Fool Well, a point of diversion identical to an application by New Concept Mining Inc. in 1996. Water will be pumped from the wells to a water tank where it will be supplied to the milling circuit.
The company anticipates water demand at 125 gallons per minute at the mill; additional water will be used for dust suppression and other uses.
The county’s argument states that “the foregoing protest should not be construed as the county taking an active position in opposition to mining. Mining has historically been and continues to be a substantial contributor to the economy of Nye County. The development of potable drinking water for the residents of Manhattan however has been an extended, expensive, arduous task culminating with the Pipe Springs Well being placed into service in July 2010.”
Prior to the well being placed into service, Nye County provided bottled water to Manhattan residents at a cost of $2 per gallon for three years. That was after Nye County fell out of compliance with tough, new, federal arsenic standards.
“If we fail to file a timely protest and we do in fact see a dramatic impact to our municipal well, then we would not have a seat at the table to mitigate the problem with the state engineer’s office,” Public Works Department Engineering Technician Oz Wichman said.
Wichman said he talked with the mining company on several occasions to notify them of the county’s intentions “in the interest of straight shooting.” He said in the event of an impact to the town well, the county has the tools in place to solve the problem.
“The Pipe Springs Well is the only well in the entire Manhattan area that meets drinking water standards. We supplied water to this town for three years,” Wichman told county commissioners.
He speculated the likelihood White Caps Mining will get the water they want is very slim. A well the company drilled dried up in the 1930s, he said.
“The mining company has not conducted a pump test. I’m not terribly concerned about it, but as a precautionary measure, we have to see this thing through,” Wichman said.
The appeal can be funded through the county’s contract with water rights attorney George Benesch, he said. Assistant County Manager Pam Webster said there’s a small amount of money left for his contract, but Benesch’s contract will have to be renegotiated.
