As elected leaders representing Nederland and Boulder, we want to provide constituents with details about the potential expansion of mining operations by the Cross gold mine, owned by Grand Island Resources (GIR). The mine is located in the Caribou area outside of Nederland. It discharges into Coon Track Creek, which drains into tributaries before entering Barker Reservoir, the primary drinking water source for the city of Boulder.

We have concerns about the potential impacts this expansion could have on well water up-canyon from Boulder, surface water in Barker Reservoir and drinking water quality in the city of Boulder.

Some history: The Cross mine has been in operation for over 40 years. Upon the death of the previous owner, GIR received a reclamation permit for an 8.95-acre gold, silver, zinc, copper and lead mine. Over the course of several years, the Cross mine was out of compliance with the Water Quality Control Division due to high levels of heavy metals discharged into Coon Track Creek.

In November 2021, the Water Quality Control Division issued a Cease and Desist Order for violations of the discharge permit, including exceedances of lead, cadmium, zinc, silver and copper. A full accounting of those violations can be found on the Town of Nederland’s website: townofnederland.colorado.gov/community/cross-caribou-mines.

Underground mining has not occurred since the Cease and Desist Order, and GIR has made upgrades to its water treatment system so that discharges are compliant with its current discharge permit.

Even with the upgrades to its treatment system, we question whether these will be sufficient to protect our communities from the expansion of the mine. GIR’s new application for designated mining operation permit (DMO) includes:

• expanding the permitted area from 9.99 to 205.7 acres;

• beginning active underground mining operations for gold and silver, with lead and zinc as secondary metals;

• excavating new and expanding existing tunnels to extract 70,000 tons of ore per year from mineral veins for up to 50 years;

• generating an estimated 20,000 — 40,000 cubic waste rock annually;

• constructing a mill to process the ore. Extraction chemicals and how they would be stored was not included in the permit request.

If the DMO permit is granted, the changes in GIR’s operations may have serious implications for our communities. Residents can submit comments to the Division of Reclamation and Mining Safety before April 2, 2025, using this link: dnrlaserfiche.state.co.us/Forms/DRMS_Comment, or mailed to the DRMS, 1313 Sherman St, Room 215, Denver, CO 80203. Reference the Cross gold mine application, Permit M1977410.

We will be following the issue closely and are also interested in your input.

Please share your perspective with us: lesley.smith.house@coleg.gov, junie.joseph.house@coleg.gov, judy.amabile.senate@coleg.gov, janice.marchman.senate@coleg.gov.

Lesley Smith represents House District 49. Junie Joseph represents House District 10. Sen. Judy Amabile represents District 18. Sen. Janice Marchman represents District 15.