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Cleaning Up Mine-Scarred
Lands in Crested Butte
T
Ahe
Crested Butte, Colorado
2002 Brownfields Law expanded the definition of brownfields to
include mine-scarred lands, providing a new tool for cleanup and
revitalization of mining properties. The Peanut Mine reclamation project
near Crested Butte, Colorado offers an example of accomplishing
reclamation at abandoned mines. This project is a collaborative effort
between local officials, the Crested Butte Land Trust, Peanut Mine, Inc.,
and state and federal agencies to restore a 16-acre portion of an 83-acre
property impacted by a former coal mine and hard-rock ore processing
operation in the Slate River watershed. These operations, which
occurred between 1904 and the 1970s, produced extensive tailings piles
currently located near the Lower Loop Trail, one of Crested Butte's most
popular recreational corridors.
Hundreds of people pass through the Peanut Mine site area daily in order
to access the multi-season trails of the Lower Loop area. The site's
yellow, foul-smelling tailing ponds contain heavy metals, which have been
draining into Peanut Lake for years. Clean water from the mine adit (a
horizontal entrance to the mine) picks up this contamination as it passes
through the hard rock tailings piles covering the property. The exposed
area also creates the potential for unhealthy airborne dust.
Because of these concerns, local citizens have made the cleanup of this
eyesore property a priority. According to Susanna Linam, a local
resident, "The Lower Loop here is used by the locals and by tourists who
come to bicycle and hike, so it would be absolutely wonderful to get that
mine cleaned."
The effort to clean up the Peanut Mine began in the late 1990s, when the
Crested Butte Land Trust acquired property in the area, including the
mine, with the goal of improving access to nearby national forest and
wilderness areas and improving environmental quality. The Peanut Mine
property has since been transferred to Peanut Mine, Inc., which was
established to oversee the reclamation project.
In 2005, Peanut Mine, Inc. began on-the-ground activities to consolidate
most of the coal and hard rock tailings into one large disposal area and
cover them with soils that can be revegetated. Once construction is
completed, the water that runs out of the mine and over the site will be
directed away from the disposal areas, to prevent further contamination.
In addition, a layer of limestone will be placed under the disposal area, to
neutralize any acidity in case of water seepage, and French drains were
Water that runs through hard rock tailings
carries contamination to a pond
on the former Peanut Mine site.
JUST THE FACTS:
• An EPA Brownfields Cleanup grant
enabled Peanut Mine, Inc. to begin
cleanup on a 16-acre portion of the
83-acre property where the Peanut
Mine and Mill formerly operated for
70 years.
• Cleanup will involve consolidating all of
the hard rock tailings into a few, larger
mounds, and covering them with soils
that can be re-vegetated. The water
that runs out of the mine adit and over
the site will also be directed away from
the mounds, to prevent further
contamination.
• Cleanup will be followed by the
development of improved trail access
and will result in water quality and
wildlife habitat improvements.
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created beneath the limestone to direct water away from the disposal area. The lower
portion of some mill tailings ponds will remain in place and be capped with a layer of
coal and a second layer of soil for revegetation with native plant species.
The Peanut Mine project is scheduled for completion by the end of 2005 unless
there are delays from cold weather. In addition to improved access, cleanup of
the property will prevent contamination of the Slate
River, which is fed by Peanut Lake and
provides water for other downstream users.
The project is expected to also benefit the
area's ecosystem by improving fish,
animal, and bird habitats. The
Colorado Department of Public Health
and the Environment required an
environmental covenant that requires notices
to be posted on all sides of the disposal area;
forbids drilling for water on the property; and requires
that the property be maintained to prevent erosion.
CONTACTS:
For more information contact
U.S. ERA-REGION 8
(303)312-6312
Visit the EPA Brownfields Web site at:
http://www.epa.qov/brownfields/
Cleanup in progress on the former
Peanut Mine site.
This extensive reclamation project is primarily funded by a
$200,000 EPA Brownfields Cleanup grant, which provided critical
funding for the reclamation and revegetation of the site, as well as the
Colorado Division of Minerals and Geology's (DMG) Colorado Inactive
Mine Reclamation Program. As a key partner, DMG designed the Peanut Mine reclamation plan,
contracted the work locally, and supervised the reclamation construction. In addition, the Town of
Crested Butte, Gunnison County, and the Colorado Department of Local Affairs contributed $300,000 to
help acquire the site so it could be cleaned up. Other financial contributors include the Colorado Public
Health and Environment, the Gates Foundation, Peanut Mine, Inc., and individual donors. According to
Jim Starr, President of Peanut Mine, Inc., "[T]he money we're getting for this project is really going to
help us...we would not have nearly as good a
final product without the EPA money."
Through EPA funding, the citizens of Crested
Butte will ultimately build on regional assets and
improve environmental quality. The result will be
a recreational area that can be used by all local
citizens and prevent further environmental
degradation. According to Jim Schmidt, Mayor
of Crested Butte, cleanup of the Peanut Mine
property will "enhance recreational opportunities
not just for passing through, but as a place to
stay and stop."
In addition to the Peanut Mine cleanup in
Crested Butte, the Brownfields Federal
Partnership Mine-Scarred Lands Initiative is
exploring approaches to mine-scarred lands
cleanup and community revitalization in hopes
that other mining communities will benefit from
the experiences, lessons learned, and financial
and technical resources identified through six
Demonstration Projects.
In addition to the Town of Crested Butte, communities
throughout EPA Region 8 (which covers Colorado,
Utah, Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, and South
Dakota) are using EPA Brownfields funding to assess
and clean up mine-scarred lands. These include:
• Ouray County, Colorado is using hazardous
substances grant funds to assess mine-scarred
properties in 4,000 acres within the Canyon Creek
watershed.
• The Mineral County Fairgrounds Association,
Colorado is using EPA Brownfields cleanup funding
to clean up a 46-acre property along the Willow
Creek watershed contaminated by mining wastes.
• Summit County, Colorado is using EPA Brownfields
funding for assessment and cleanup of mine-
scarred lands, including the Shoe Basin mine site.
In addition, Summit County's Pennsylvania Mine site
is also one of six Brownfields Federal Partnership
Mine-Scarred Lands Initiative Demonstration
Projects.
Brownfields Success Story
Crested Butte, Colorado
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
EPA 560-F-05-243
October 2005
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
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