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To the Editor:

When foreign corporations promise that industrialized gold mining will bring Buckingham County jobs…don’t fall for it! The truth? Many of those positions require specialized workers from elsewhere.

Don’t fall for it when they say that industrialized gold mining will bring the County tax revenue either. When they’re done with the mine, these companies routinely declare bankruptcy. Who gets stuck with the clean up bill? Buckingham taxpayers!

This isn’t about good folk panning for gold in some creek or chipping away in an old timey gold mine. We’re talking huge deep pits that go down hundreds of feet, way past the water table. This is about the deadly chemicals used to extract the gold particles from the soil… cyanide, mercury and arsenic. This is about the toxic waste (stored in possible 600 acre lakes) that always leaks into the aquifers. Disaster happens when the earthen dams break that hold back the waste. On that day, we can say goodbye to the James River and the Chesapeake Bay.

And don’t think we’ll be able to ask the federal government for help especially when funding for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) continues to get cut. When budgets are tight, you think Buckingham will be high on their list?

Get real. The EPA says metallic mining industry is the No. 1 polluter. In these uncertain times, it would be foolish to allow big industrial corporations from Canada to enrich themselves at Buckingham’s expense. Let’s save our water for future generations.

Sign this local petition to protect against toxic trespass: bit.ly/bhamord

David Waters

Buckingham