Board approves amendment to Sonora Mining remediation judgment to preserve trust funds and extend deadlines

County counsel presented a staff recommendation to sign an amendment to a longstanding stipulated judgment tied to the Harvard (often called Sonora or Harvard) mine remediation. The amendment updates property listings, extends deadlines for the trust to remain available for remediation and planning, clarifies the process for landowners to seek removal from the stipulated judgment or request eligible land uses, and modestly increases the county’s annual operations contribution (from $115,000 to $120,000, with a $5,000 increase every five years thereafter).

Counsel explained the county had been required under earlier settlement terms to fund remediation and that roughly $5 million remains in the market‑held trust. The amendment’s principal goal is to keep those funds available to support remediation planning and to prevent automatic reversion to the water board beneficiary at trust term. Counsel noted the county will continue making annual payments against an existing loan through about fiscal year 2036–2037.

Supervisors and commenters discussed long‑term reuse options for the site and the difficulty of repurposing mine‑influenced land because groundwater seepage creates mine‑influenced water that requires remediation before reuse; possible concept projects mentioned included solar, hydrogen, data centers and other industrial uses that could either use or offset remediation costs. The board approved the amendment (vote recorded 4‑0‑1).