For the week of July 18 - July 24, 2001

Hecla wants ownership of Grouse Creek mine

Cleanup has not yet begun

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By GREG STAHL
Express Staff Writer

Activists fear that privatization of a Superfund site east of Stanley could saddle the state with multimillion-dollar cleanup costs.

Cleanup efforts, scheduled to have begun in May, have not been launched in earnest at the now-closed Grouse Creek gold mine, in the headwaters of the Yankee Fork of the Salmon River. Coeur d’Alene-based Hecla Mining Co., responsible for creating the mess, is seeking complete ownership of the area.

Hecla already owns most of the property. The remainder is owned by the federal government, under management by the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management.

Hecla filed last month for ownership of several more of the site’s claims. The company’s interest in owning the site begs questions about why there’s interest in private ownership.

Federal and state agency personnel wouldn’t comment on why Hecla would want to own the site, but some suspect the company wishes to be under Idaho’s supervision during cleanup, rather than the federal government’s.

But acquisition by Hecla, has been "an ongoing process," company spokeswoman Vicki Veltkamp said. "So, we’re continuing with it. It consolidates who we’ll deal with. It just makes it easier."

If patenting goes through, cleanup of the site would come under the immediate jurisdiction of the Idaho Department of Lands and Idaho Department of Environmental Quality. DEQ is now a consulting agency to the federal Environmental Protection Agency, which is administering cleanup orders.

DEQ regional administrator Jim Johnston said patenting "will probably occur. I’ve been told it’s probably going to happen."

Under a DEQ consent order, Hecla was supposed to begin draining the pond on May 1, but new alternatives in ways to treat the contaminates are being explored.

"Hecla is in the process of screening about seven different alternatives for dewatering the pond up there," Johnston said. "They are to report to us at the end of July."

Those options include spreading the liquid on land, deep well injection or accelerated evaporation, all in conjunction with some kind of discharge into the Yankee Fork.

Boulder White Cloud Council mining activist Tom Blanchard pointed out that Hecla has a $7 million bond on the mine for cleanup that will transfer to the state if the state assumes management of cleanup efforts.

"That’s probably about $30 million shy of what it will take to clean up the site," he said.

Hecla is having financial difficulties, however. If the company were to file for bankruptcy, Sen. Clint Stennett, D-Ketchum, fears, Idaho could be left sitting at the table with the bill in its hand.

"The state just isn’t set up the same way the feds are," he said. "Should Hecla bankrupt, the state taxpayers could end up footing a bill to clean it up. Grouse Creek has significant water quality issues. If the state is stuck with cleaning it up, it could be $100 million."

Blanchard agreed that Hecla’s financial straits could add a few bumps to the road to successful cleanup.

"Hecla’s having difficulties, there’s no doubt about it," Blanchard agreed. "The bottom line is, they just don’t have the cash flow to handle their obligations."

The Grouse Creek gold mine was supposed to be a state-of-the-art paragon of how large-scale, modern-day mining can be done in harmony with the environment.

At the mine’s dedication on Aug. 12, 1995, in front of 450 Idahoans, Hecla chief executive Art Brown called the mine an "environmentally safe, efficient mine."

That was then.

In response to leaks in the mine’s 500-million-gallon tailings pond, which resulted in cyanide contamination of area streams, Hecla will be required to begin draining the pond, located in the Salmon River Mountains.

The contamination is now contained, and there is no threat to wildlife or humans, Johnston said.

"We’re getting no cyanide hits in Jordan Creek whatsoever," he said. "Cyanide levels in the tailings impoundment are within drinking levels."

Since cyanide was first detected in Jordan Creek over a year ago, heavy metals and cyanide have precipitated to the bottom of the tailings pond. When the pond is drained, the heavy metals and cyanide will again be a problem, but draining the pond is the first priority, he said.

Piquing environmentalists’ interest on the issue, the Yankee Fork and Salmon River—both downstream of the mine—contain spawning habitat for endangered Chinook salmon and are also home to endangered bull trout.

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