Coos County commissioners Thursday afternoon backed the county Planning Commission in its approval of a conditional use permit allowing a chromite mining operation on 2,000 acres of mixed use forest lands.

Commissioners Kevin Stufflebean, Nikki Whitty and John Griffith voted unanimously to approve the conditional use permit, with new conditions and changes, and to deny the appeal of David and Sharon Comden, of Bandon, who said they are likely to continue the appeals process with the state Land Use Board of Appeals.

“It’s just about a sure thing,” Comden said, following the hearing, the second held by the county this week on the issue. Thursday’s hearing was attended by about 20 people, considerably fewer than the crowd that filled the commissioners’ courtroom at the Coos County Courthouse on Tuesday.

In making their decision, the commissioners opted to add two conditions to the 11 that were approved by the Planning Commission in August.

 The new conditions address road signs and maintenance, and require the mining company, Oregon Resources Corp., to pay for warning signs along the designated truck route, Beaver Hill Road, as well as roads near the plant in Bunker Hill, and share the cost for maintenance, upgrades and repair of the roads.

The county roads include not only Beaver Hill Road, but also roads leading to the processing plant, including Mullen Road and Edwards Street, with Center Street and Howard Avenue as the alternate routes. The remainder of the hauling route is along U.S. Highway 101, which is not under the county’s jurisdiction.

The operation will involve five mining sites located on land between Charleston and Bandon and will require 86 round trips, or 172 one-way trips, from the mining sites to the plant per day, according to Oregon Resources’ Chief Operating Officer Dan Smith.

The condition requires the applicant to pay for a traffic impact analysis, which will include the cost of maintenance and repair to the roads for the duration of mining operations. The final decision requires analysis to be complete before the mining operations begin.

Additionally, the county is requiring Oregon Resources drivers to provide records of truck trips, to be given to the roadmaster on a monthly basis, and the roadmaster has the authority to cease operations along county roads either temporarily or permanently if noncompliance is determined.

Other changes to the conditions included adding a requirement for mud control, in addition to dust control, and making the Coos Forest Protective Association an additional agency on the list of those under whose authority the operation will work.

Following the decision, Oregon Resources President Cheryl Wilson said she was happy with the decision and hoped this would be the last hearing.

“I have to thank the commissioners for doing their due diligence,” Wilson said. “Any appeal to LUBA will only delay employment opportunities for the county and opportunities for tax dollars.”

The Comdens were joined at the hearing by about a half-dozen opponents, mostly residents of the area near Seven Devils Road excavation sites. The Comdens said they would like pre-mining testing of noise and impacts to water and air by hazardous pollutants.

“There are more than 200 families living around the mining sites, with hundreds of building sites zoned for development,” Sharon Comden said. “It doesn’t have to mean the end of jobs or the end of the process, just protecting the people.”

After notice of the decision is mailed by the county, there will be a 21-day window to mail appeals to LUBA.