Valley County retracts March letter accusing Perpetua Resources of unauthorized road work

Chair read a formal retraction of a county letter dated March 30 that had alleged "unauthorized construction and maintenance activities by Perpetua" on Stibnite Road, saying the draft contained "several unfortunate factual misstatements." The chair told the board the county has since reviewed an email from the Road Department director, who had instructed Perpetua Resources to seek U.S. Forest Service approval rather than a county right-of-way permit.

"The purpose of this letter is to retract that letter because it erroneously described Perpetua's resources activities on Stibnite Road as noncompliant with Valley County requirements," the chair said, reading the revised text aloud. The retraction notes the March 30 draft failed to reconcile the earlier allegation with a Feb. 17 communication from the Road Department director and said the county had incomplete information when the prior draft was approved and sent.

A commissioner moved to approve sending the revised letter to the Forest Service and the motion was seconded. The board voted in favor. Commissioners said the retraction is intended to correct the public record and to open a cooperative dialogue with the Forest Service about what projects require federal, not county, permits.

The chair said the county looks forward to working with the Forest Service "to better understand what role we play in approving projects and what projects require Forest Service approval." The board also said it will have a broader follow-up discussion about easements and the county's role in future project oversight.

The action: the board approved the revised letter and directed staff to coordinate further with the Forest Service.