SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Manager of Clock Tower Records and longtime Grass Valley resident Karl Lanquist said he loves the town because of the tightknit community and the natural surroundings.

“A more relaxing environment and not so chaotic,” Lanquist said. “Not as many vehicles.”

The area has a long history with the gold rush and mining, but news gold mining could return, Lanquist said worries him.

“Not really happy on it,” he said. “As what I know it can do to the groundwater and what it can do to the environment and the animals and the species around it.”

Rise Grass Valley is in the process of seeking approval from Nevada County to open the Idaho-Maryland mine, which last saw mining back in 1956.

The decision to mine has divided the community and while some are against, there is also support for it and the possible economic impact.

While other longtime residents like Jim Miller have mixed feelings, balancing the company’s right vs the water wells on his property that could be effected, he says, by the company pumping water out of the mines for operations.

“It almost is their right to be able to mine what’s there if they legally own those mineral rights,” Miller said. “But I don’t want to end up having to bring in city water.”

An environmental impact report was commissioned by the county which Rise Grass Valley paid for, with the report indicating favorably to the environmental impact mining would have on the area.

As far as continued concerns by some in the community about the eco impacts, the state and the county’s rules and regulation should give them confidence, said CEO of Rise Grass Valley Joe Mullin.

“This project is being held to a very high standard and that should give people confidence,” Mullin said.

Mullin recently replaced the former CEO.

The last CEO left shortly before being fined in Canada from mining operations with another company polluting an area.

When questioned on how the community could trust the company Joe referenced, they’re held accountable by shareholders.

“It’s a public company,” Mullin said. “It has shareholders and a board, so it has a much higher level of transparency than a private company does.”

The county vote is currently scheduled for mid-February.

Lanquist said he’ll be monitoring to see what happens and knows there will be a consideration for re-opening it.

“I know a lot of people need jobs, so there’s going to be a lot of people saying, well, we need the jobs,” he said.

And as much as he loves the town’s gold history, he said he hopes it stays in the past.