(Jason Bean/The Reno Gazette-Journal via AP, File
The Montana Mountains loom over Thacker Pass in northern Nevada on July 14, 2021.
Thursday, March 31, 2022 | 2 a.m.
A conservation group opposing a proposed lithium mine in Northern Nevada is asking the Bureau of Land Management to reopen its environmental review of the project, detailing how a temporary housing site for workers would be harmful to the environment.
Western Watersheds Project, which aims to protect watersheds and wildlife, argues that the camp — which would have 20 RV spots for senior construction management — was not analyzed in the environmental impact statement for the mine and it would have effects on the greater sage-grouse, a bird that lives in Western U.S., as well as other wildlife.
The Thacker Pass mine project, planned for Humboldt County, would be the largest lithium mine in the United States, covering 9 square miles of public land. With reserves of 3.1 million metric tons of lithium carbonate extract, the mine is expected to have a lifespan of 46 years. The mined product would be turned into battery-grade lithium products, including for electric vehicles.
Lithium Nevada Corp., based in Reno and a subsidiary of the Canadian mining company Lithium Americas, received the go-ahead from the federal government about a year ago and recently got its necessary air, water and mining permits from the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection a few weeks ago.
About 1,000 workers will be needed for the construction process, which would take a couple of years. A vast majority of those workers will live about an hour south of the site in Winnemucca.
But Lithium Nevada Corp., which has two ranches near the mine, wants to temporarily house about 20 senior company officials and their families nearby with enough space for privacy.
“It’ll take time and a lot of effort to build out Thacker Pass, so we want our team to have some comforts of home and have space for family visits during the intense construction phase,” said Tim Crowley, vice president of government and community relations for Lithium Nevada Corp.
One of the ranches is about 20 miles from the proposed mine in the agricultural community of Orovada, which has a population of 64. The company presented its plans to house workers at its ranch near Orovada, but the town’s residents preferred the housing be put at the company’s other ranch, which is adjacent to the mine site.
While the second location would be closer to the mine, there are no utilities in place so the company would have to get all the necessary county permits to bring in water and provide septic systems.
“BLM must prepare a supplemental National Environmental Policy Act analysis to consider the effects of the man camp on the environment,” Kelly Fuller, energy and mining campaign director at Western Watersheds Project, wrote in a letter to BLM.
Fuller argued in her letter that the noise from the housing construction would disturb wildlife, and the construction equipment and motor vehicles would unleash harmful emissions into the air. She also expressed concern about what effect living and working near the open-pit mine could have on employees’ health.
The group requested that BLM conduct a public comment hearing for the housing site’s NEPA analysis. BLM declined to comment for this story, citing pending litigation brought against it by Western Watersheds Project and other environmental groups.
“This would allow your agencies not only to gather input from the public,” Fuller wrote in the letter, “but also to be transparent, which is prudent given the highly contentious nature of the Project.”
The proposed mine, while it would help President Joe Biden’s plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through the installation of half a million electric vehicle charging stations, is also the center of concern for environmentalists and Indigenous groups. Environmentalists worry about the casualties of wildlife and effects on water quality, and Indigenous groups have protested the mine, arguing it is a site of sacred and cultural significance.
Lithium Nevada Corp. anticipates being in full construction mode by this time next year.
