Abandoned Hardrock Mines
Federal Agency Leads:
U.S. Department of the Interior
Bureau of Land Management
National Park Service
Office of Surface Mining
U.S. Geological Survey
Department’s Office of Environmental Policy and Compliance
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Forest Service
Natural Resources Conservation Service and Departmental Hazard Materials Management Division
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
U.S. Department of Justice
Cleanup Efforts
Most hardrock AML sites are included and addressed as part of broader agency programs. For example, the EPA’s Superfund program remediates large AML sites mostly on private land or involving mixed ownership. Department of Agriculture agencies fund projects through hazmat and safety programs. At the Interior Department, AMLs on DOI-managed lands are addressed through a mix of hazmat, watershed, and historic preservation programs. States and Tribes who have completed their coal AML cleanups may be able to use grants issued by OSM to address non-coal sites. In addition, the USGS serves as unbiased scientific experts to advise and assist other agencies in prioritizing and completing their AML projects.
Cost
Federal agencies have informally estimated that they expend $80–85 million annually on hardrock AML remediation (excluding OSM’s SMCRA grants to certified States).
Priorities
Each abandoned mine site faces a somewhat unique set of regulatory requirements, depending on federal and state statutes or regulations; whether it is on federal, state, tribal, or private land; local regulations; and site-specific environmental considerations.
The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), commonly known as Superfund, provides the primary tools available to EPA project managers in developing strategies for assessment, investigation, and cleanup of environmental risks from abandoned mine sites. However, the use of CERCLA authorities is not limited to EPA. Other federal agencies, under the authority of Executive Order 12580, have used CERCLA to implement cleanup activities on their lands.
The National Priorities List (NPL) was established by CERCLA to provide a guide in determining which sites warrant further investigation, to assess the nature and extent of the public health and environmental risks associated with the site.
Success Stories
In 1997, BLM, the States of Colorado and Montana, the USDA Forest Service, and other watershed partners leveraged their combined resources to generate $7 million in funding and technical support for watershed-based cleanup pilot projects in Montana and Colorado. Removal of tailings and mine wastes from stream beds, stabilization of flood plains, and capture of acidic drainage in priority watersheds were all accomplished through the reclamation work of the collaborative partners.
Animas River Watershed, Colorado
Reaching across 186 square miles of Colorado’s San Juan Mountains, the Animas River watershed is a place of rich mineral deposits, recreational opportunities, and historic interest. Communities that call the Animas home, like the town of Silverton, are transitioning from a once thriving mining industry to an economy based on tourism and recreation. The Animas River Stakeholders Group (ARSG) is assisting this transition through its efforts to address the environmental impacts of mining within this watershed, a high priority for restoration in the State of Colorado. Though barriers were encountered along the way, stakeholders were able to develop successful methods to reclaim the Animas River watershed.