Triumph mine cleanup progresses

By ALYSON WILSON
Express Staff Writer

s23tri1.gif (8642 bytes) The state is soliciting bids from contractors interested in taking on the cleanup of Triumph Mine tailings, show here, and contaminated soil around the mine site and town of Triumph. (Express photo by Willy Cook )

A gathering of some 30 contractors interested in nabbing the Triumph Mine tailings cleanup signaled the start of a much-anticipated project--the remediation of toxic piles containing traces of lead and arsenic that lie exposed in East Fork Canyon.

On Tuesday, Sept. 15, the contractors met with Idaho Department of Lands representatives at the site to discuss a request for bids issued by the agency.

From 1882 to 1957, the Triumph Mine produced ore containing zinc, lead and silver.

The ores were concentrated using a "flotation process" that left residual waste material--the tailings.

The lead and arsenic remain in piles of waste material. Concern exists about seepage of toxic minerals that could contaminate groundwater.

An assessment of the site by the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality states, "Actual or threatened releases of hazardous substances from this site, if not addressed...may present an imminent endangerment to the public health, welfare, or the environment."

Contractors’ bids for the cleanup are due Sept. 29, and the Department of Lands expects the winner to begin work by October. By 1999, work is to have started capping the lower pile--on the south side of East Fork Road--and installing a drain for water runoff, according to Rob Hanson, Idaho Department of Environmental Quality’s Triumph project manager.

The initial capping work is part of a cleanup program detailed in a DEQ record of decision issued in March. Any contractor whose bid is selected by the lands department must follow the cleanup plan specified in that document.

Tailings deposited on the adjacent wetlands and contaminated soil from nearby properties will be moved to the tailings piles. After being capped with dirt, the piles are to be planted with vegetation.

The Triumph Mine was proposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to be placed on its Superfund list--sites considered first priority for environmental hazard mitigation.

The state DEQ protested the listing and requested it take charge of the cleanup. The EPA agreed and when the cleanup begins, the federal agency has stated it will begin the process of "deproposing" the site once the cleanup is underway.

At that point, the cleanup will rest entirely in the hands of state agencies, something for which many Triumph residents have lobbied in the past.

"Hopefully all this is four to six weeks out," Hanson said, adding, "I was real pleased to see that many [contractors] turn out at the meeting."

Completion of the cleanup is planned for the fall of 1999.