Superfund project starting to take shape for Leviathan Mine

Plans for a Superfund project to clean up the poisonous Leviathan Mine took a small step closer to fruition during a public meeting Wednesday evening.

Officials from the Environmental Protection Agency met with concerned community members at the Carson Valley Middle School library to lay the framework for the project, which promises to span several years.

A video presentation and question-and-answer session outlined the route that waste from the acid mine takes before entering the East Fork of the Carson River. Scientists also talked about the hazards to plants and animals that have been discovered during water testing.

"We can look at this river and see that there's an effect," said EPA biologist Ned Black. "We know from the outset that there's an ecological effect.

"No bugs or bunnies; no organism that we are interested in - including cutthroat trout - are going to survive this."

Remedial Project Manager Kevin Mayer characterized the site, located on the east slope of the Sierra near Markleeville, Calif., as an ecological disaster.

"It's a lovely walk into that canyon, but the water is orange," he said, describing the Leviathan and Bryant creeks. The creeks serve as a repository for seepage from the 250-acre mine site.

He said tests of the water pH levels indicate a fluctuating acidity, a sign that metals from mine slag and overflowing holding ponds are creating concentrated bursts of contamination. The next step is to investigate where the contamination is coming from and look deeper into its ecological effect.

The mine was in use, mostly for sulfur extrication, from the 1860s until 1962. To date, more than $7.5 million dollars has been spent to undo the contamination.

Those cleanup efforts, though significant, have not totally contained the waste, which has become a visible part of the ecosystem.

Mayer illustrated the level of contamination, comparing wildlife where the creeks meet with other bodies of water. On the contaminated side, a rock will have only slime and, an "arm's reach away," there will be caddis fly larvae in the river bed.

"For quite a number of miles down Bryant Creek, it's just dead," he said.

Although preliminary discussion touched on the possibility of an acid-neutralizing filtration system, environmental testing and cost analysis need to be done before work starts, Mayer said.

Some of the first efforts at a cleanup were put forth by The Washoe Tribe and Alpine and Douglas county officials. Senator Richard Bryan, D-Nev., in conjunction with the Lahontan Regional Water quality Control Board, headed the effort to bring in the promised funding and manpower of Superfund status.

The mine's former owner, Arco, will pick up some of the cost, Mayer promised. "It's still an order and we expect Arco to comply with that order."

At present, Arco has shown initiative in the cleanup. The company has been doing its own testing at the site, providing information and agreeing to further efforts. Nevada agreed to settle with the company for $2.3 million and freedom from future liability. The EPA said that during the Superfund project - which has been estimated at $25 million - the company will have to kick in, regardless of the settlement.

"They've given us pretty clear signals to say they are interested in getting started at least," Mayer said.

Trout Unlimited, a nonprofit environmental powerhouse, has expressed interest in the cleanup.

Nevada branch Executive Director Matt Holford said the organization has experience in pushing for similar operations.

"This is a grassroots effort," he said. "We can help by educating people to the problems for clean water and native species."