"New documents reveal that the Trump administration has let a mining company take on a major role in writing the environmental report that is key to getting its Idaho gold mine project government approval, the Idaho Statesman reports.

According to documents obtained by Earthworks and reported by the Statesman, the U.S. Forest Service is allowing Canadian-based company Midas Gold to take a lead role in the creation of a biological assessment of its proposed open-pit gold mines in central Idaho.

The environmental report would asses the mines' impact on fish protected under the Endangered Species Act, including salmon, steelhead and bull trout. An assessment could shut down Midas Gold’s Stibnite Gold Project if it meant the company had to undertake costly habitat restoration work to protect the surrounding area."

Brooke Seipel reports for The Hill December 13, 2019. [2]

SEE ALSO:

"Documents: Mining Company Writing Own Environmental Report" (AP) [3]