Washington, DC – February 25, 2015 – Venable LLP attorneys Peggy Strand, Gregory S. Braker, Amy J. McMaster, Thomas M. Lingan, Maggie Fawal, and Laura E. Boorman have successfully assisted the mining company Romarco, Inc. in obtaining all needed permits to construct and operate the Haile Gold Mine in South Carolina, the first contemporary eastern gold mine in the United States. Gold mining began in the Carolina Slate Belt in the early nineteenth century, and has continued intermittently since. Now, in the twenty-first century, eastern gold exploration and mining is resuming.
The Haile Gold Mine project required multiple state permits, a federal wetlands permit, fish and wildlife clearances, an Environmental Impact Statement, satisfaction of the Historic Preservation Act’s Section 106 obligations and resolution of two challenges by environmental groups. The Venable team worked with the client, outside consultants and multiple regulatory agencies to obtain all permits for the project. Venable also assisted in putting together an acceptable compensatory mitigation plan, which was a key component of obtaining the wetlands permit and helped to resolve the threat of challenge by most environmental stakeholders.
Venable is pleased to have assisted Romarco in bringing gold mining back to the Carolina Slate Belt. Venable possesses great breadth and depth of experience in dealing with the environmental challenges facing the mining industry.
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