“The Tribe will review the Army Corps’ decision closely once we receive it but at this point has serious doubts that the agency complied with the law.” Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee Chairman Shannon Wheeler made this comment in response to the recent permit approval for the Stibnite Gold Mine. On Monday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced that it issued a Clean Water Act permit to Perpetua Resources, the parent company of the mine.
Chairman Wheeler continued, saying “The Stibnite Gold Project poses an imminent threat to the Nez Perce Tribe’s Treaty right and resources…Knowing the scope of Perpetua’s mine plan and the harm it will cause to the Tribe, we cannot understand how the Army Corps issued this permit.
The permit allows the mining company to dredge or fill waterways and approved wetlands. A press release from the Nez Perce Tribe says the mining “would cause profound damage to streams and wetlands in the project area.”
