More information is being sought in the assessment of another controversial plan to placer mine inside Dawson City’s municipal boundaries.

The mining proposal by Darrell Carey has met with staunch opposition by the Tr’ondek Hwech’in, the City of Dawson and many locals who fear the loss of cherished cross-country ski trails.

Carey, on the other hand, maintains the placer claims are legal, have been there long before the ski trails, and long before Dawson expanded its municipal boundaries to include the area in question.

The Dawson office of the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board issued an information request Tuesday asking Carey to provide more details about how he intends to address the loss of existing ski trails.

“Please provide a detailed plan that clearly outlines how the proposed development of new trails will effectively mitigate impacts from the loss of the existing trails,” reads the information request.

“Your response must include consideration of comments submitted during SVI (seeking views and information) that pertain to this value, and will address issues such as forest retention, wind buffers, trail slope, noise impacts, safety, summer and winter use, as well as timelines for mining and new trail development.”

The assessment board has given Carey until Oct. 11 to either submit the information or tell staff when he plans to submit it.

The block of 34 placer claims lies between the Dome Road country residential subdivision and the Klondike River.

Carey has indicated in his application to the assessment board if ski trails are destroyed during his mining and exploration work, he would rough in new trails under the guidance of the local ski club.

The application also points out the ski trails were once exploration trails.

Carey’s proposal to mine the area has prompted scores of comments to be filed with the assessment board, the vast majority of which oppose the project.

Concerns vary from having industrial activity in close proximity to a residential area to noise and increased heavy truck traffic, though most are focused on the concern for the local ski trails.

The Tr’ondek Hwech’in have also said the proposal has to potential to impact on commitments made under its aboriginal land claim settlement.

In his four-page submission last week on behalf of Dawson City, Mayor Wayne Potoroka has noted a number of specific issues. They include the potential impact on the ski trails, which are highly valued by the community.

The City of Dawson, the mayor writes, believes the Yukon government should enter into negotiations with Carey to buy out the mining rights.

“We appreciate there are concerns with paying for an extinguishment of the claims, but it is the quickest way of dealing with this matter with the least amount of impact on our community, and we hope it is vigorously pursued,” says the mayor’s submission.”

Had the Yukon government heeded the town’s recommendation in 2013 when a similar situation arose, Potoroka said, this situation might have been more easily managed.

Dawson believes the government should not issue permits to “mine within municipal boundaries until clarity can be given to municipalities and miners exactly how these operations are to be dealt with in a reasonable and respectful manner.”

Potoroka concludes his letter by saying: “Most of all, we hope this solution can be achieved with the least amount of stress on our town and the proponent.

“Yukon Government, as both a land owner and adjudicator of the mineral right, must endeavour to find a rational, sensible solution.”

Both opposition parties have used the controversy to highlight the need to modernize what they say is outdated placer mining legislation that does not reflect the growing needs of expanding municipal interests.

The Yukon Party, they argue, has failed to do so in its 14 years in government.

Meanwhile, the community of Dawson and the Tr’ondek Hwech’in are facing another challenge from placer miners.

Two local miners have applied to the Yukon Surface Rights Board for an order to remove a relatively new Tr’ondek Hwech’in subdivision and all associated infrastructure so that they can mine their eight placer claims that lie beneath the subdivision.

The subdivision on the left hand side of the Klondike Highway heading into Dawson is built on Category B settlement land, which gives the Trond’ek Hwech’in ownership to the surface but not the subsurface.

The issue goes back 15 years, when the First Nation and the miners were unable to agree on a price to buy out the mining rights before construction began.

While the Tr’ondek Hwech’in were offering $10,000 to buy out the rights, the miners wanted $80,000, or $10,000 per claim.

The Surface Rights Board has found the application for an order to be incomplete.

It has given the miners until the end of October to provide all the required information.

See commentary.