At long last, according to the Santa Clara County Planning Department, the Draft Environmental Impact Report for the proposed mining project at Juristac will be released in late November of this year. While the department has offered target dates many times in the past, they say they are serious about this one.
So, at this time, we are asking all our supporters to please prepare to take action in December and January. Once the DEIR is released, a public comment period will open, and we will be asking everyone to send in comment letters. During the comment period we will also be gathering in person at events TBA.
In other updates, local efforts to pass resolutions of support for protecting Juristac at other cities in Santa Clara County are continuing, as is outreach to organizations and faith communities throughout the county. Congregants of the First Unitarian Church of San Jose and the Starr King Unitarian Universalist Church created a special presentation entitled “Protect the Sacred Land of Juristac” that they have shared with many churches and faith communities.
At this time, 12,750 online Protect Juristac petition signatures and 3,650 paper petition signatures have been collected, making for a total of 16,400! That is an amazing number and we thank everyone who has spread the word in ways large or small. Please keep it going!
Student governments and faculty senates at universities and colleges throughout the region continue to circulate information about the Amah Mutsun effort to protect Juristac and to pass resolutions of support. Resolutions were passed this year by students of DeAnza College, Foothill College, and UC Santa Cruz and more are in the works.