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Cleaning Up Waters Polluted by Abandoned Mines:Obstacles and Opportunities
The Reynolds Lecture Series, Colorado Chautauqua AssociationUniversity of Colorado Chancellors Office
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Tonight’s Presentation
• Abandoned Mines• Approaches and Obstacles to Cleanup• A Case Study: The Penn Mine• A Discussion of “Good Samaritan”
Legislation – Doug Young
• District Policy Director for Congressman Mark Udall
– John Henderson• Partner, Vranesh and Raisch
– Cathy Carlson• Policy Advisor, Mineral Policy Center
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Abandoned Mines
• 230,000+ in the West 22,000 in Colorado 3,600 in Boulder Co.
• generating acidity and metals
• 2 out of 5 watersheds polluted
• $30 billion+ cleanup costs
Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 2001
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Abandoned Mines
• Effects on water quality– acidity
• dissolves metals• affects habitats
– metals• toxic to aquatic
organisms• toxic to humans
– drinking water
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Abandoned Mines
• Effects on water quality– scarcity of water
Dillon Reservoir, boat ramps, August 2002 Dillon Reservoir, spillway, August 2002
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Abandoned Mines
Burlington MineBalarat Gulch, near JamestownVoluntary Cleanup, Honeywell
Big Five Mine/Captain Jack MillCalifornia Gulch, near WardEPA Superfund
Bueno Mine/ “streamside tailings”Little James Creek, near JamestownStakeholder-run Initiative, LWOG
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Approaches and Obstacles to Cleanup• Key issues
– funding– property ownership– re-mining– liability– technology
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Approaches and Obstacles to Cleanup• Funding: Who pays?
– federal• Superfund (CERCLA)• leftover SMCRA (coal) funds to
states• US Forest Service, BLM
– Western states• funding $0 to $28 million• variety of sources (SMCRA)
– mining companies• voluntary cleanups• royalties, fees?• responsibility for abandoned mines?
Summitville Mine Superfund site; $175 million+
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Approaches and Obstacles to Cleanup• Funding:
Who Pays?– Everyone
you can find!
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Approaches and Obstacles to Cleanup• Property
Ownership– definitions of
“abandoned” and “inactive”
– private owners• former• current• active• solvent
– government landsPrivate land ownership around Bueno Mine, Jamestown
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Approaches and Obstacles to Cleanup• Re-Mining
– new mining at abandoned mines
– waste rock, tailings
– incentive for mining companies
– common in coal mining (PA, WV)
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Approaches and Obstacles to Cleanup• Liability
– Clean Water Act• discharge
permits for water treatment
• assumption of liability for “remediating party” not responsible for pollution
Abandoned house analogy (Gov. Janklow, South Dakota)
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Approaches and Obstacles to Cleanup• Liable parties
– government agencies
– stakeholder groups– voluntary cleanups
Burlington Mine subsidence pit pond
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Approaches and Obstacles to Cleanup• Liability
– “Environmental Good Samaritan Act, 1999”
“A landowner or person who voluntarily provides equipment, materials, or services at no charge or at cost for a reclamation project or a water pollution abatement project in accordance with this chapter may be immune from civil liability...”
Pennsylvania Title 27, Part VI.C., Chapter 81.
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Approaches and Obstacles to Cleanup• Liability
– Vintondale, PA• AMD & Art
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Approaches and Obstacles to Cleanup• Technology
– “Best Management Practices”• hydrology
– waste removal– water diversions– erosion control and
capping– re-vegetation
• treatment– active– passive
» wetlands
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Approaches and Obstacles to Cleanup• Technology
– effectiveness?• complicated problems
– longevity?• maintenance and
operation– costs– responsibilities
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A Case Study: the Penn Mine
• Pennsylvania Mine– Summit
County, Colorado
– active from 1870 to 1900s
– silver, gold, copper, lead, zinc
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The Penn Mine
• Cleanup Efforts– acid mine drainage into
Peru Creek, Snake River– 30-200 gallons per
minute– remediating parties
• Colorado Division of Minerals and Geology
• Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado
– treatment pond and constructed wetlands
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The Penn Mine
• Liability– Ruling on Penn
Mine, CA– remediating
parties concerned about liability
– project stopped– cited as
example of need for Good Samaritaran legislation
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The Penn Mine
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Summary
• Remediation of abandoned mine lands– a challenging technical problem– made more difficult by
• funding• property ownership• liability
– Pennsylvania Mine and State of Pennsylvania• good examples of problems and solutions
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Doug Young
• Graduate of University of Colorado (Political Science) and University of Colorado School of Law
• District Policy Director for Colorado Congressman Mark Udall since 1999– Rocky Flats, wilderness legislation and forest fire
policies on federal public lands, mine waste cleanup, transportation issues, open space preservation
• former Director of Environmental Policy for both Governor Roy Romer and Senator Tim Wirth– Rocky Flats and Rocky Mountain Arsenal cleanups– Animas-La Plata water project negotiations– federal grazing policy reform
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John Henderson
• Graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Colorado Law School
• Partner, Vranesh and Raisch law firm, Boulder, Colorado (23 years)– mining law (mining companies)– water law (ditch companies)– real property– land use– licensed to practice before the courts of the State of
Colorado, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court
• past Chair of the Mineral Law Section of the Colorado Bar Association
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Cathy Carlson
• Graduated from Humboldt State University (Wildlife Management)
• Policy Advisor, Mineral Policy Center– advocate for mineral policy reform since 1987– mineral development– oil and gas leasing and development– livestock grazing– fisheries and wildlife habitat conservation.
• former Director of the National Wildlife Federation's regional office in Boulder, Colorado