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| 11/19/2009 4:20:00 PM | Email this article • Print this article |
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| Jennifer Lane, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and Carol Hill, local business owner, examine the shotcrete applied to the Denver City piles in the California Gulch Superfund Site as part of a pilot study to improve the remedy for Operable Unit Six.
Photo by Ann E. Wibbenmeyer
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Public views pilot study at OU 6
Ann E. Wibbenmeyer
Herald Staff Writer
The construction of the pilot study in Operable Unit Six of the California Gulch Superfund Site has been completed, and the community was given a chance to see the work on Nov. 12.
The reaction to the work was positive, with comments about how authentic the piles still looked. There was some discussion about the wood used for the new cribbing wall, and whether it should have been treated to look old.
According to Kerry Guy, project manager with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the wood was not treated at all. In this way, the boards will begin to look weathered sooner than with a treatment.
The treatment on the surface of the wood could be done at a later time, he said, if that is what the community wants.
This wall can be seen on the Mineral Belt Trail, and holds in the areas that were covered in inert rock from the El Paso mine piles, elsewhere in the mining district. Half of this section also has a liner underneath to test the difference it would make to the capping process.
The work was done on the Denver City mine piles, which is owned by Leadville Silver and Gold. Bob Elder, local mining engineer, is the only remaining board member of this company and gave the EPA permission to use the piles.
Originally the Bankok piles, owned by Elder, were to be used for the pilot study, but the heavy equipment was unable to access them. These piles also needed a lot of alteration before construction could begin, he said.
The Denver City piles, being right on the Mineral Belt Trail, were much more accessible. These piles also had a more similar shape and slope to the piles that will need the capping done, he said.
One cut had to be made in the Mineral Belt Trail asphalt, but this was already contracted to be repaired the next week, according to County Commissioner Mike Bordogna.
Around the back of the Denver City piles, to the left, is the area that was covered with shotcrete. This is concrete shot onto the piles in varying shades to more closely resemble the rocks left on top of mining piles.
Half of this was lined and the other half shot without a liner, to test the need for a liner to reduce the amount of acid mine drainage water into the Arkansas River.
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