Sacramento, CA…With gold prices climbing and interest in new mining exploration rising across the Sierra Nevada, California’s Mother Lode region faces a critical turning point: protect local water and public safety or repeat the costly mistakes of the Gold Rush.

Across California, an estimated 47,000 abandoned mines continue to leak heavy metals and pose physical dangers. In response, a newly launched statewide coalition, Gold Isn’t Green, is bringing together local leaders, Tribal representatives, scientists, and conservation groups to empower communities to prevent risky new mining projects while cleaning up historic toxic legacy sites.

The coalition’s work highlights:

The risks to communities, including the requirement to pump out decades of contaminated groundwater likely shifting long-term costs onto local taxpayers.
Impacts on local water and safety as historic mining left behind millions of pounds of toxic mercury and arsenic, along with safety hazards like sinkholes and collapsing mineshafts.
The push for California leaders to act, like creating local land-use policies to protect communities from mining risks.