Bullion King Mine Reclamation Public Comment Period Information
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Bullion King Mine Reclamation Public Comment Period Information USDA Forest Service Columbine Ranger District, San Juan National Forest San Juan County, Colorado T42N, R8W, sections 21, 22, 23 Background and Need for Project Mining in the Silverton area began in the 1870’s and continued until 1991, when the Sunnyside mine ceased production. The mineralized geology of the area means that natural weathering of the rock has always released metals such as aluminum, cadmium, copper, iron, manganese and zinc into the streams. Mining and milling increase the exposure of rocks to weathering in waste rock dumps at the mines, in tailings piles at the mills, and as air contacts rock within the mines. Mine tunnels also provide a preferred flow path for subterranean water. The result is increased amounts of metals in the streams. High concentrations of these minerals are toxic to aquatic life, including fish. The Bullion King waste rock dump was identified in 2001 as one of the top 32 waste rock dump contributors to heavy metal pollution in the Upper Animas watershed (Use Attainability Analysis for the Animas River Watershed, January 2001). Most of the other identified waste rock sites have been remediated by State or Federal agencies or landowners. Bullion King is one of the few remaining sites where a project can improve water quality without having to treat water in perpetuity. The waste piles to be address in this project are located on private lands in the Porphyry Basin area approximately seven miles northwest of Silverton, Colorado. See attached map. These actions would be categorically excluded from documentation in an environmental impact statement or an environmental assessment because they fall under FSH1909.15,category 32.2(8) “short term (one year or less) mineral investigation and incidental support activities. Examples: approving interim and final site restoration activities.” 36 CFR 220.6(e) (8) Proposed action Animas River Stakeholders Group and Colorado Division of Reclamation Mining and Safety propose to regrade, consolidate and protect the waste rock dumps in the immediate vicinity of the Bullion King Mine Reclamation Bullion King Mine to improve the water quality of Mineral Creek and the Animas River. The largest dump is on the Arthur Britton and Cargill claims; a smaller dump to the northwest is on the Bullion King claim. While all the waste rock is on private land, and would stay on private land, access to this project would require use and maintenance of Forest Road #822 and use of other small areas of forest lands. ACTIVITIES ON FOREST LANDS: Allow maintenance of FR #822, to include removing rock bulges from the inside edge of the roadbed to create a flat eight foot wide road. Hammer attachment on the excavator and/or drilling and breaking rock with expanding material would be needed to correct the current outsloped condition. This is the safest option to allow an excavator and small articulated mine dump trucks to access the mine waste dump. Specialized small, short-turning-radius equipment would be needed to traverse this road, even with this maintenance. The road would be closed intermittently for public safety during project operations. Construction activities may take up to four months, in 2014 and/or 2015, and may be split between an investigation phase and a repository construction phase. Allow access across about 400 feet of Forest Service land on an existing 2-track road, to access talus and waste rock on private claims. A small front end loader would be used to transport material between claims and across Forest lands. The existing track would be closed at the end of project to comply with current travel management policies. A staging area immediately adjacent to Hwy 550 would be utilized to stockpile aggregate or geotextile or other materials. Materials would be transferred from highway vehicles to specialized small equipment that can transport it to the work site. A staging area at a large switchback on Forest Service #822 below the narrow section would be utilized for parking and minor material storage. CONNECTED ACTIONS ON PRIVATE LANDS: Reclamation of the waste piles on private land is not a Forest Service decision, but is a connected action, and the effects will be considered. Each waste pile would be re-graded in place and capped, or moved to a consolidated repository on private land. Waste rock covering approximately 1 ¼ acres would be moved. Approximately 1 acre of currently vegetated land could be used for a repository, and approximately ½ acre of scree fields could be impacted by the removal of talus rock. All waste piles and talus to be affected would be located on private land. HOW TO COMMENT Written, facsimile, hand-delivered, and electronic comments concerning this action will be accepted for 30 days following the date of publication of a legal notice announcing the comment 2 Bullion King Mine Reclamation period in the Durango Herald. The estimated date of publication is January 17, 2014. The publication date of the legal notice is the exclusive means for calculating the comment period. Those wishing to comment should not rely on dates or timeframe information provided by any other source. It is the responsibility of persons providing comments to submit them by the close of the comment period. Only those who provide comments during this period are eligible to appeal the decision. Written comments must be submitted to: Cam Hooley, Environmental Coordinator, Columbine Ranger District, P.O. Box 439, 367 S. Pearl Street, Bayfield, CO 81122. Comments may be faxed to: Attn: CAM HOOLEY @ (970) 884-2428. Hand delivered comments may be submitted to the Columbine Ranger District (address above) between the hours of 8:00am-4:30pm Mon-Fri, excluding holidays. Electronic comments must be submitted to: comments-rocky-mountain-san-juan- [email protected]. For electronically mailed comments the sender should normally receive an automated acknowledgement from the agency as a confirmation of receipt. If the sender does not receive an automated acknowledgement receipt of comments, it is the sender’s responsibility to ensure timely receipt by other means. For appeal eligibility, comments must have an identifiable name attached or verification of identity may be required. A scanned signature may serve as verification on electronic comments. Individuals and organizations wishing to be eligible to appeal must provide the following information (36 CFR 215.6(3)): 1. Name and address 2. Title of the proposed action 3. Specific comments on the proposed action along with supporting reasons that the Responsible Official should consider in reaching a decision 4. Signature or other verification of the identity upon request; identification of the individual or organization who authored the comments is necessary for appeal eligibility 5. For multiple names or multiple organizations, a signature must be provided for the individual authorized to represent each organization, or for each individual that wishes to have appeal eligibility. Comments received in response to this solicitation, including names and addresses of those who comment will be considered part of the public record on this proposed action and will be available for public inspection. Comments submitted anonymously will be accepted and considered; however, those who submit anonymous comments will not be eligible to appeal the subsequent decision. Contact Person For additional information concerning this project, contact Kay Zillich, Abandoned Mine Program, Tres Rios Field Office, 15 Burnett Court, Durango, CO 81301, 970-385-1239. 3 Bullion King Mine Reclamation 4 .