EPA Boomerang tailings removal project underway
Hauling through town to Idarado begins Monday
By Suzanne Cheavens, Telluride Daily Planet
The vestiges of Telluride’s mining past can be seen nearly everywhere. The architecture of the time remains in the town’s historically designated core, hikers commonly come across old cable and other abandoned pieces of machinery, and the very roads and trails they tread were once used to access the riches hidden deep within the mountains. There is some charm and romance to that storied past, but not when it comes to the toxic by-product of ore processing. Tailings piles lurk everywhere, leaching noxious metals into watersheds and tainting otherwise pristine environments. One such tract, a 34-acre parcel mostly on U.S. Forest Service land along the San Miguel River near the Boomerang Road and bridge area, is currently being remediated under the auspices of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Last fall, when forest service officials referred the EPA to the site, the agency went into immediate action. Samples of the tailings revealed high levels of lead and arsenic and EPA officials observed the tainted soil sloughing into the river. In addition, the stretch of land was heavily trafficked by pedestrian and bike activity. A portion of the remediation site — less than one-tenth of an acre — is Town of Telluride property.
Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forest Norwood District Ranger, Megan Eno, first updated Telluride Town Council last September that an estimated 7,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil would be removed. At the time, officials had not yet chosen a storage site for the tailings and were considering either the Matterhorn Mill site or Idarado at the east end of the valley. Idarado was selected for its proximity and larger storage capabilities. Once the EPA assumed leadership of the remediation project, Eno told council “they tend to move quickly.” The EPA did, indeed move quickly and initiated Phase 1 of an emergency response action — as authorized by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) — last fall.
“Approximately 3,000 cubic yards of contaminated tailings were removed as part of last year’s emergency response and transported to the Newmont/Idarado (site),” said EPA public information officer (PIO) Laura Flynn Jenkins.
Phase 2 was announced July 12 by EPA PIO Chris Wardell, in a news release on the EPA website. This phase, which the EPA is calling the removal phase was originally slated to begin last week, but after public outcry and inquiries from local media, was pushed back. EPA officials hastily arranged a series of “office hours,” that allowed the public to meet with and question project leaders, primarily about the hauling schedule and protocols. Hauling from the Boomerang site to Idarado Tailings Pile 5/6 repository is slated to begin tomorrow (Monday).
“Hauling is expected to last approximately 40 days,” Jenkins said. “Trucks will be decontaminated prior to entering public roads to prevent dispersal of tailings beyond the existing tailings boundaries.”
In total, the project is expected to be completed by October.
Once at Idarado, Jenkins explained that the mining company “is required to follow the State of Colorado’s requirements for post closure treatment, capping, and revegetation of the tailings pile/repository.”
At the Boomerang site, she continued, “stream restoration will be implemented to re-establish aquatic habitat and mitigate bank erosion.”
Of concern to residents, particularly those living on east end of town, is, in the height of summer, the increased amount of heavy trucks that will be joining the throngs of vehicular traffic generated by recreationists and sight-seers heading for Bridal Veil Falls and the trails there. And, many, including Telluride Mayor DeLanie Young were frustrated by the paucity of communication from the EPA regarding its plans.
“The Town asked for early, frequent and concise info about the plans,” Young said. “We wanted early communications about not only the trucking plans but about impacts on the recreational area. We wanted people to know about alternate routes and not be surprised.”
Knowing the project was coming down the pike, Young said town officials implored that trucks loaded with toxic tailings were not rumbling down Colorado Avenue at the peak of a bustling summer. They learned of the project’s timeline on July 12 in a news release posted by Wardell on the EPA’s website.
Jenkins defended the decision to begin the project now.
The cleanup start date has been pushed back as far as possible to ensure the Site is remediated and stable before the winter arrives,” she said. “The cleanup will take approximately three to four months. There is a short working and growing season in the area. Winter and spring do not provide workable conditions so summer into fall are the only options for remediation. Rain can be challenging as well, which may cause hauling delays. The EPA will reduce impacts on traffic by increasing hauling during non-peak hours.”
An estimated 30,000 cubic yards of arsenic- and lead-laced soil will be transported the 2.5 miles from the site to the Idarado repository. Proposed hauling hours are from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Hauling will commence with four trucks before increasing to six.
“The tailings will be loaded into haul trucks that will be operated and inspected by an EPA contractor in order to ensure contaminants do not spread during transportation,” Jenkins said. “The inspection includes sweeping off tailgates and anywhere debris can collect, washing off the truck tires before driving on clean soil and streets, and placing a tarp over the tailings before transported. The tailings will also be sprayed with water to ensure they do not become airborne.”
Those precautions are acceptable to local environmental activist and protection group, Sheep Mountain Alliance (SMA). Mason Osgood is SMA’s community outreach director.
“After speaking with the EPA, we feel they’re taking all the necessary precautions,” Osgood said. “It’s the unfortunate truth they have to drive through the center of town during the busy season. But Idarado is the proper place (to store the tailings.)”
Osgood further assured the community that SMA was being vigilant in monitoring the EPA truck traffic and protocols.
“We’ll be keeping a close eye on speed and dust control,” he said. “They’ll be under a watchful eye.”
Trucks will be traveling at or below posted speed limits leading up to the storage site Osgood noted.
Overall, SMA and others applaud the project.
“This is long overdue,” Osgood said. “There are old tailings throughout our community. Finishing these projects is a good thing.”
Betsy Smidinger, director of EPA Region 8’s Superfund and Emergency Response Division said it was a matter of protecting community health and the environment.
“This action is an important step in our ongoing efforts to address human health and environmental risks at the Telluride Valley Floor Site/Boomerang Road Site,” Smidinger said in a recent statement. “The removal of these tailings and restoration of the San Miguel River will protect the community from lead and arsenic, improve aquatic habitat, and enhance a highly valued and visited natural area.”
The EPA pledged to ramp up its outreach.
“We are currently finalizing a very robust outreach plan that includes regular press releases, factsheets, and videos explaining each phase of the removal and restoration process,” Jenkins said. “In addition, EPA is seeking an office in or near town, and will make our contact information widely available, to respond to community concerns.”
The EPA’s site profile can be found at response.epa.gov. Check the EPA Region 8 Facebook and Twitter accounts for updates.