20211117_M-Karutz

From: Michaela Karutz
To: NCMininoProaram
Subject: [External] Piedmont Lithium
Date: Wednesday, November 17, 2021 7:31:38 AM
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To Whom It May Concern,
As a resident of Dallas, NC I strongly oppose the Lithium mine and its hypothetical monetary
value in favor of preserving our natural, limitless resources. Our drinking water, air quality,
and the visual joy and abundance of God's Creation and our home is far more important than
the selfish cash grab of a foreign company.
Time and time again large corporations have proven (without fail) that they cannot and will
not be responsible stewards of Gaston County and the surrounding areas. Duke Energy is a
prime example. They begrudgingly cleaned up only a portion of Coal Ash, which still
contaminates our rivers.
Piedmont Lithium does not have any prior experience running a mine.
How can we trust them to dismantle their fixtures and restore the land to its prior state?
How can we trust them to treat our roads, our water, and our Tax payer's resources as though
their were guests and not bullies?
The application for Mining Permit No. 36-35 (Pending) is for a proposed 500' deep 1,500 acre
lithium hard rock blasting destructive mining operation in Gaston County that will impact our
drinking wells, our streams, our air quality, wildlife, and ultimately the health of our
community.
The company pushing for this destruction of our community is Piedmont Lithium who is a
young junior mining company that has never opened, operated, or more importantly closed
such an environmentally impacting mine of any size.
I strongly oppose they way they have stolen land from our local farmers over the last 5 years,
divided families, have not approached our local officials until July 2021 to outline their
intentions for over 1,500 acres, have overstated their approvals and local support, have locked
down landowners with long term option agreements to Piedmont's favor while pricing for
lithium has increased 3X, and have not treated our citizens fairly.
They have the potential to be a terrible neighbor and environmental disaster in our community
for the next 20+ years as we can only hope they are around and have funding to clean up the
mess they leave behind.
Please protect our local resources and the interests of Gaston County citizens and decline all
permits for this mine.

Sincerely,
Michaela Karutz
Dallas NC Resident