County approves Nevada Gold Mines monitoring and mitigation plan for Robertson 3 project after questions on triggers

The Lander County Board of Commissioners voted to approve a memorandum with Nevada Gold Mines LLC on April 9 to record a Monitoring, Management and Mitigation Plan (MMMP) for the Robertson 3 project.

Pam Harrington, the county’s natural resource officer, and Tamara Baker, permitting manager for Nevada Gold Mines, presented the plan and described an expanded monitoring array specific to the Robertson project, the installation of a new USGS gauge on Indian Creek for continuous monitoring, and additional sentinel wells.

Commissioners asked how the company accounts for recent low‑snow winters and whether hydrologic analyses incorporate changes in recharge. Tamara Baker said hydro‑analysis includes recent weather patterns and causal analysis will be performed if stream changes are observed. She described annual reviews with county staff and agency partners and said any determination of company‑caused impacts would be vetted with the Bureau of Land Management and the Division of Water Resources before implementing mitigation.

Commissioners also pressed for early notification if flows decline below the plan’s formal mitigation trigger (a sustained drop below 20 GPM for two years). Nevada Gold Mines said the MMMP includes annual data review and the parties will share monitoring results; the company said it cannot commit to restoring streamflow where declines are due to natural climate variations, but it will work with partners on habitat improvements and mitigation where dewatering is the cause.

After discussion a commissioner moved to approve the memorandum; the board voted in favor and authorized the county manager to sign.