Atlanta Gold on Hold?

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says Atlanta Gold continues to pollute a tributary of the Boise River with high levels of arsenic.

The Canadian mining company, which has been exploring for gold in the hills 60 miles southeast of Boise for more than a decade, has improved water quality with treatment.

And Ernie Simmons, chief operating officer, says once it begins mining it will haul away tons of arsenic that will never reach the Boise River. The company recently purchased two new water treatment plants that will meet the even lower standards it now faces.

Atlanta Gold just announced another round of exploration and has delayed its projected mine opening until 2011 or 2012. Environmentalists, who worry about the mine's impact on the Boise River downstream and the water supply for Boise and other Treasure Valley communities, aren't satisfied.

"Until you prove you are going to fix the mess you already have we are not going to allow you to make another mess," Justin Hayes, program manager of the Idaho Conservation League, said he told Atlanta Gold officials.

Simmons said environmentalists and the U.S. Forest Service have prevented the company from upgrading the treatment plant it uses now, located on the Boise National Forest. Atlanta Gold plans to redesign and expand reclamation ponds it uses to treat water flowing out of an old mine tunnel and into Montezuma Creek, and will install a new water treatment system, Simmons said.