By Jennifer Wilson - The Gold Rush Development will be donating 17 acres of land for a dedicated school site once the developer’s project is approved. Bill Wright, legal counsel for the development, stood up at last week’s Unified School District Board meeting to announce the deal. Mike Flynn, an engineer and geologist and 35-year Amador County resident, voiced his concerns over the Allen Ranch tailings in that area. Flynn indicated that in the late 1990’s, the EPA had done some remediation on the Mesa De Oro property by removing some tailings and depositing them on the Allen Ranch property, a process that can release arsenic into the soil. According to Flynn, the EPA claims “nothing (else) has been done since 1999.” Flynn went on to say that the Department of Toxic Substance Control, or DTSC, has an entire unit devoted to school sites, and asked developers to “proceed with caution.” Wright thanked Flynn for his questions and comments, and remarked that they were “excellent calls.” Wright also informed the Board that the tailings in question have been covered and gone through the EPA remediation program, with the arsenic levels being acceptable to the DTSC. “We know that it’s an issue we need to address,” added Wright. “If it wasn’t this site, it’d be another site (with the same issues).” School Board Member Chuck Anderson thanked Flynn for his concern, and noted the “long, long process” of the Gold Rush Development. Anderson also added that the Gold Rush developers have “been very willing to work with us” and that “virtually every piece of property we looked at” had some sort of environmental issue. The 17-acre property will house a school, with a public library directly adjacent to it, a project that Anderson and Board Chair Mary Walser say will be “setting a precedent for Amador County .”