Regarding the July 18 story, "Mesa De Oro clean-up completed," your news release, like the "fact sheet" received in the mail by Sutter Creek residents from the state Department of Toxic Substances Control, failed to mention anything related to critical opposition to decisions made about Mesa De Oro.
Former Ledger Dispatch columnist Bill Briner appeared on PBS Online News Hour Superfund Issues on April 16, 1996. "It's very frightening when you see the arrogance of these folks," he said. "The government used to be public servants. And now they've taken over the mantle of public masters. And that is terrifying. They have yet to respond to anyone. They're not accountable to anyone, and they've just thrown away several million dollars on a problem that does not exist and they've bankrupted people for no reason whatsoever."
On the same broadcast, George Wheeldon of Wheeldon Geology in Placerville said, "So the EPA is coming in and saying they sky is falling, but yet the facts and the background indicate that this evidence is not there." He claimed the arsenic from the mine was in a form - arsenopyrite - that is not dangerous, not absorbed into the body. "They've tested the people that live at Mesa De Oro, and they've tested the urine and arsenic and levels in their hair, and they come up with absolutely nothing," he said. To point out how safe the local arsenic is, Wheeldon wore a ring containing gold and arsenopyrite, common substances in the Mother Lode. "Are we going to put a 'for sale' sign on the total Mother Lode a couple of miles wide for 120 miles long, depress property values, and destroy people's lives and homes for a problem that doesn't appear to be there?" he asked.
Sutter Creek residents, be sure to let the Environmental Protection Agency know how much you appreciate the fine work they do.