On Tuesday, Feb. 9, the EPA will host a public meeting to present cleanup data and take public comments on addressing mine and mill waste in Operable Units 1 and 2 of the Newton County Mine Tailings Superfund Site.
The event will take place from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Lampo Community Building, 500 E. Spring St. EPA staff members will be available to discuss site activities and answer questions.
“Newton County Mine Tailing site is one of our superfund sites that we have been working on for a number of years,” said Mark Doolan, project manager with EPA. “And we have got to the point where we are ready to propose a remedy of cleanup for all of mine waste in the county, that is basically what the meeting is about, is just to explain what EPA’s remedy is going to be for cleanup or remediation of all the mine waste scattered throughout the county.”
The site is located in the northern half of the county and is part of the Tri-State Mining District, which encompasses approximately 2,500 square miles of Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma. The Tri-State Mining District’s lead and zinc production ranked as one of the highest in the world with total ore production and is estimated to have been slightly more than 500 million short tons. The Missouri portion of the district accounted for approximately 200 million short tons of the ore production. Mining at the site was conducted from approximately 1850 to 1970. The wastes, produced from the milling of the ore, primarily consisted of the following types of material depending on the milling process used:
• Chat, which is sand and gravel-sized particles produced by dry gravity separation process.
• Tailings, which are sand and silt-sized particles produced by froth flotation which were slurried to diked impoundments.
According to information provided by the EPA, the site is a concern because of the mining and milling wastes remaining on the surface throughout the county. The wastes constitute a significant source of heavy metals contamination with potential for exposure to people and environmental receptors. Past mining and milling practices have also resulted in the contamination of surface soil, sediments, surface water and groundwater in the shallow aquifer. The primary contaminants of concern are lead, cadmium and zinc.
The 30-day public comment period began on Feb. 1 and will end on March 5.
The EPA encourages public participation and will not make any final decisions on a cleanup alternative until thoroughly reviewing all comments received from the public. For more information, contact EPA at 1-800-223-0425.
