ITOPICS OF
INTEREST:
• What is Site
Assessment?
• Mercury
Awareness
Community
Action
Campaign
I* Flat Creek I MM
is Finalized on
the NPL
Site Assessment
Program
Contacts
Site Assessment Sensations
VOLUME
ISSUE
SPRING 2010
What is Site Assessment?
The Site Assessment program
works with states and tribes to
assess and prioritize hazardous
waste sites for cleanup. We
evaluate sites to determine
whether they qualify for
listing on the National
Priorities List (NPL) and
consult with states and
affected tribes to deter-
mine which sites should
be listed.
The Site Assessment pro- !
gram is the first door into '
the Superfund process.
Site Assessment Manag-
ers (SAM) evaluate sites for
potential threats to public
health and the environment,
and will also direct sites to
different programs if it is deter
mined that another program
could better address the site
conditions.
Once a site is discovered and it
is determined that it would be
most beneficial to evaluate the
Taking water samples in the
Upper Animas, Silverton Colo-
rado
site conditions through the site
assessment process the, SAM
begins the evaluation process.
SAMs can at any time during the
Site Assessment process refer sites
to other programs such as the emer-
gency response, removal, RCRA or
a State Voluntary Clean-up
program. SAMs would do this
if the information gathered
through the investigation sup-
ports the decision that the site
would benefit more from be-
ing evaluated under one of the
I programs mentioned above,
I instead of going through the
I Site Assessment process.
1 For more information please
visit: http://www.epa.gov/
regionS/superfund/siteassess.html
Community Awareness Action Campaign
Leeds mining District, Utah-
Over the last several years
EPA and the Utah Department
of Environmental Quality have
been involved in assessing
risks to human health and the
environment associated with
historic mine operations in the
Leeds mining district. The
assessments have lead to EPA
removal actions at several of
the larger ore processing mills
due to high levels of mercury
in the mine wastes. As with
most large scale mining dis-
trict, even after the removals
there remain numerous smaller
mine waste piles with uncontrolled
access. Utah DEQ and EPA staff
worked jointly to develop a public
awareness campaign aimed at
minimizing incidental exposure to
wastes that could contain mercury.
The result of this partnership was a
thoughtful and well planned com-
munity awareness campaign and
action plan to appropriately handle
potential mercury tailings and mer-
cury casks located in residential
areas around the town of Leeds.
If you have concerns about
harmful contaminants in your
area please contact a Site Assess-
ment Manager, listed on the next
page.
•I
Tailings piles in the Leeds Mining
District which may contain mer-
cury.
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x * --• • x
Flat Creek Iron Mountain Mine and Mill is Finalized on the NPL
With the support from the Town of Supe-
rior, Mineral County and the State of
Montana the site was finalized as a Na-
tional Priorities List (NPL) site in Septem-
ber 2009.
Throughout the process of listing this site,
EPA and the Montana Department of Envi-
ronmental Quality (MTDEQ) regularly met
with local officials and members of the
public to provide information and answer
questions from the community.
EPA interviewed community members and
leaders to learn about residents' concerns,
determine preferred ways for communica-
tion with the community, and to obtain
historical knowledge of the area. EPA used
information from these interviews to de-
velop a Site-specific Community Involve-
ment Plan
In 2009, EPA set a goal of sampling 250
yards and began an aggressive outreach
program to encourage property owners to
have their property sampled. This outreach
effort included presentations, a booth at the
County Fair, and going door-to-door.
Community participation was so great
that by the end of the summer, over 300
properties had been sampled and more than
200 properties were scheduled for sam-
pling in 2010. The sampling results show
that 28 of 317 properties sampled need
some additional investigation and 25 of
will be cleaned up in the summer of 2010.
Without the community's and local offi-
cials' support, EPA would not have been
able to conduct such a comprehensive sam-
pling effort.
The Need for Superfund
The State of Montana and the U.S. Forest
EPA contractors removing lead-
contaminated soil along Town street during a
2002 Cleanup Action.
Service received clean-up money from a
bankruptcy claim against American
Smelting and Refining Company
(ASARCO), a responsible party. The
money received is only available for
cleaning up the mining and milling areas
of the site, but not areas in and around the
Town of Superior. Therefore, Superfund
Listing was important because it would
provide Superfund money and authority
to assess and cleanup identified risks to
public health in and around the Town of
Superior. The site investigations, com-
munity outreach, and relationship build-
ing done by the Site Assessment Program
and the EPA Montana Office enabled this
site to move through the listing process
and achieve an end result that would pro-
vide the long term-comprehensive clean-
up through EPA's Superfund Program.
Moving Forward
EPA hosted a public meeting on May
12, 2010 to discuss the 2009 sampling
results and upcoming 2010 activities.
Those activities include cleanup of the
25 properties with elevated lead and/or
arsenic levels and a second round of
soil sampling. In addition, EPA is part-
nering with the US Agency for Toxic
Substances and Disease Registry
(ATSDR) and the Mineral County
Health Department to offer a health
screening for residents of Superior.
The screening will measure blood lead
and urinary arsenic. Pregnant women
and families with young children (6
years old and younger) are encouraged
to participate in this screening pro-
gram.
EPA is also partnering with the US
Forest Service, the MTDEQ, and Min-
eral County to begin investigations into
the extent of contamination present
along Flat Creek, just outside of Supe-
rior. EPA is now implementing its
Community Involvement Plan.
For more information about the Flat
Creek/TMM Site, contact:
Les Sims, EPA Project Manager, 406-
457-5032 sims.leslie(@,epa.gov
Diana Hammer, EPA Community
Involvement Coordinator,
406-457-5040
hammer.diana@epa.gov
303-312-6943
Site Assessment Program Contacts
Margaret Williams, Site
Assessment Manager for
Utah
williams.margaret(@,epa.gov
Sabrina Forrest, Site
Gwen Christiansen, NPL
Assessment Manager for Coordinator and Site As-
Colorado and
South Dakota
forrest. sabrinatgiepa. gov
303-312-6484
sessment Manager for
Montana
Christiansen, gwentgiepa. gov
303-312-6463
Robert Parker, Site As-
sessment Manager for
Wyoming and
North Dakota
parker.robert(@,epa.gov
303-312-6664
PAGE 2 SITE ASSESSMENT SENSATIONS
EPA Region 8 908-N1-0001
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