U.S. E.P.A. Suggests to Add California Mine Location to Superfund’s National Priorities List

SAN FRANCISCO - The E.P.A. is proposing to add 8 hazardous waste sites to the Superfund program's National Priorities List (NPL), including California's Argonaut Mine. Superfund is the federal plan that investigates and cleans up the most complex, uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites in the country that pose risks to human health and the environment.

The Argonaut Mine Site, located west of downtown Jackson, California in Amador County, is a historic hard rock gold mine that operated from the 1850s to 1942. The Argonaut Mining Company processed ore and disposed of tailings (i.e., waste left after the mining process) throughout what is now the northwest side of Jackson.

"Though the Argonaut Mine closed in excess of 70 years ago, its toxic legacy threatens the health of people and natural resources in Amador County," said Jared Blumenfeld, EPA's Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest. "Adding the location to the National Priorities List is a crucial step in developing a long term solution for this site."

As a result of years of mining operations, the site's soil contains high levels of arsenic, lead, and mercury. An additional estimated one million cubic yards of contaminated materials are currently being held back by the 100-year old Eastwood Multiple Arch Dam.

In 2015, E.P.A. took action to keep people from being exposed to the highest levels of contamination. This work included the cleanup of 11 residential yards and a vacant lot in Jackson, and the installation of a protective cover on steep soil slopes at Jackson Junior High School.

The California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) is evaluating options to stabilize the dam, which is structurally unstable and deteriorating due to age; a potential dam failure poses a threat to the safety of the community. As part of this effort, DTSC built a stormwater diversion system to keep water from collecting in the tailings behind the dam and relieve some of the stress the dam is experiencing.

Under Superfund law, only sites E.P.A. adds to the NPL are eligible to gain federal backing for long-term, permanent cleanup. The list serves as the basis for prioritizing both enforcement actions against potentially responsible parties and long-term E.P.A. Superfund cleanup funding. The Superfund plan operates on the principle that polluters should pay for the cleanups rather than passing the costs on to taxpayers. E.P.A. searches for parties legally responsible for contaminating a site, and holds those parties accountable for cleanup costs.

E.P.A. responds to requests from states, tribes and communities to propose a location for NPL addition when non-NPL response options have not proved viable. Prior to adding a location to the NPL, the agency works closely with states and tribes and looks for public comment. Community partnerships are also critical to Superfund location cleanups. EPA's goal is to work with community partners at every location by establishing an effective process with the necessary tools and information needed to fully explore future uses before the cleanup remedy's selection. This approach gives the Agency the best chance of ensuring remedies are consistent with a site's likely future use.

This year marks the 35th anniversary of the enactment of the Comprehensive Environmental, Response, Compensation and Liability Act, the law creating the Superfund program. The Superfund law gives E.P.A. the authority to clean up hazardous substance delivers and directs E.P.A. to update the NPL. E.P.A. and its partners continue to discover new sites qualifying for the NPL.

For Federal Register notices, supporting documents, and how to provide public comments:
http://www.epa.gov/superfund/current-npl-updates-new-proposed-npl-sites-and-new-npl-sites

For information about how a location is listed on the NPL:
http://www.epa.gov/superfund/basic-npl-information

For information on the 35th Anniversary of Superfund:
http://www.epa.gov/superfund/superfund-35th-anniversary

For information about the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), the law establishing the Superfund program:
http://www.epa.gov/superfund/superfund-cercla-overview

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