Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Roca Honda Mine

Chapter 3. Affected Environment and Environmental Consequences
mainly due to drug overdose—accounts for the greatest number of unintentional injury deaths,
followed by motor vehicle collisions and falls (NMDH, 2011b). In New Mexico, injury death
rates also differ greatly by race. Injury related death rates are highest among American Indian
populations (8.35 per 10,000), followed by Hispanics (6.55 per 10,000), and non-Hispanic Whites
(5.84 per 10,000). The lowest rates were found in African American (3.66 per 10,000) and Asian
populations (2.67 per 10,000) (NMDH, 2011b).
Table 87. Unintentional injury death rates for Cibola and McKinley Counties, per 10,000
population, 2003-2007
Cibola County
(95% CI)
Unintentional injury death rates 7.86
(6.39 – 9.32)
Source: NMDH, 2011a
Abbreviations: CI – confidence interval
Traffic-related Injuries
McKinley County
(95% CI)
10.03
(9.04 – 11.02)
New Mexico
(95% CI)
6.23
(6.07 – 6.38)
Since the proposed action may increase traffic on roads in the vicinity of the mine and, therefore,
the potential for traffic accidents, the current state of traffic-related injuries is discussed. For a
more thorough discussion of traffic patterns and road infrastructure refer to the “Transportation”
section.
Vehicle crashes in Cibola and McKinley Counties have been decreasing over the past decade, due
in large part to a concerted effort by the local police departments. However, traffic fatality rates
remain significantly higher in Cibola and McKinley Counties than for New Mexico as a whole
(table 88).
Table 88. Motor vehicle collision death rates for Cibola and McKinley Counties, per 10,000
population, 2005–2009
Cibola County
(95% CI)
Motor vehicle traffic crash death rates 2.89
(2.01 – 3.78)
Source: NMDH, 2011a
Abbreviations: CI – confidence interval
McKinley County
(95% CI)
3.81
(3.16 – 4.45)
New Mexico
(95% CI)
1.83
(1.75 – 1.91)
Overall crash rates for Gallup and Grants in 2009 were 38 per 1,000 people and 23 per 1,000
people, respectively (NMDOT, 2011). Alcohol is a significant factor in some of these collisions.
In 2008 in Cibola County, alcohol was involved in 83 percent of fatal crashes (5 fatal accidents in
total) and 19 percent of all collisions resulting in injury (28 accidents resulting in injury in total).
In McKinley County, alcohol was involved in 67 percent of all fatal crashes (18 fatal accidents in
total) and 17 percent of all crashes resulting in injury (52 accidents resulting in injury in total)
(NMDOT, 2008).
DEIS for Roca Honda Mine, Cibola National Forest 395