Mercury in the Headwaters Tour the Sierra Fund Presents
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The Sierra Fund Presents Reclaiming the Sierra 2019: Mercury in the Headwaters Tour Friday, October 18 A day-long excursion to explore headwater sources of mercury and discuss opportunities to restore ecosystem and community resiliency in the Yuba and Bear River watersheds. 9:00 am- 5:00 pm Tour Agenda TIME LOCATION 8:30-9:00 am Meet at Gold Miner’s Inn- Load into Buses and Vans 9:30-11:15 am STOP 1: Englebright Dam Speaker: Carrie Monohan, Ph.D., The Sierra Fund, Hydraulic Mine Features: Debris Control Dams 11:30 am- 12:00 pm STOP 2: Blue Point Speakers: Brian Bisnett, Blue Point Partners, Blue Point Mine: Past, Present, and Future Elizabeth “Izzy” Martin, The Sierra Fund, Due Diligence on Mine-Scarred Lands 12:30-1:30 pm Sycamore Ranch Lunch and Networking 1:30-2:30 pm Hammon Grove Park Speakers: Alexandria Keeble-Toll, M.A., M.Sc., The Sierra Fund, Mercury-Contaminated Fish Carrie Monohan, Ph.D., The Sierra Fund, Yuba Goldfields: Hydraulic Mine Debris: Barriers and Opportunities Bonus Tour 3:00-5:00 pm Combie Reservoir Speakers: Carrie Monohan, Ph.D., The Sierra Fund, Hydraulic Mines and Reservoir Sedimentation Greg Jones, Nevada Irrigation District, Reservoir Maintenance: Removal of Mercury-Contaminated Sediment Nick Graham, M.S., The Sierra Fund, Combie Reservoir Monitoring Plan Englebright Dam Hydraulic Mine Features: Debris Control Dams SAWYER DECISION: Northern California was the birthplace Hydraulic mining of hydraulic gold mining in 1853. In the subsequent 30 years a altered the remarkable amount (>one billion cubic meters) of hydraulic mining sediment was generated in the northern Sierra Nevada. topography of Downstream valley farmland of the Sacramento region was repeatedly flooded and destroyed by mining debris. In response to the Sierra Nevada this, residents of Marysville formed the “Anti-Debris Association” headwaters. and implored the State Legislature to regulate mining operations. In 1882 Marysville property owner Edward Woodruff filed suit against Powerful water the North Bloomfield Mining and Gravel Company, which among other mines operated the hydraulic mine Malakoff Diggins. Hydraulic cannons washed mining was “banned” in 1884 after the California courts heard the away mountaintops Woodruff v. North Bloomfield Mining and Gravel Company case and Judge Lorenzo Sawyer ruled in favor of Woodruff. This action, which and cut into became known as the “Sawyer Decision,” is widely acknowledged as hillsides, and much California’s first environmental law. of this material Hydraulic mining recommenced after Congress passed the Caminetti Act of 1893 and continued until 1950. The Caminetti remains in the Act permitted hydraulic mining to occur as long as sediments were headwaters today. captured and not allowed to reach “navigable waters.” This resulted in numerous Debris Control Dams (DCDs) of varying size and type (log cribs, rammed earth and concrete) being built across the headwaters. The California Debris Commission (CDC) identified four locations for large debris control dams on rivers, of which two were constructed: North Fork Dam on the North Fork of the American River and Englebright Dam on the South Yuba River. DCDs have long outlived their purpose, but continue to interrupt longitudinal connectivity of habitat, and sediment and nutrient regimes in the watersheds. These man-made structures continue to accumulate hydraulic mine debris and represent a unique opportunity to remove mercury-contaminated sediment from the aquatic environment. ENGLEBRIGHT DAM: Englebright Dam, a 260 ft. high concrete barrier, was constructed in 1941 by the CDC for the specific purpose of holding back debris generated by hydraulic mining. Englebright serves as the afterbay for New Bullards Reservoir hydropower facilities but does not provide any additional benefits, such as water delivery, power generation, or flood control. With a holding capacity of 70,000 acre feet of water, since its construction, Englebright Dam has trapped ~23,000,000 cubic yards of mercury-contaminated sediment, or roughly 25% of its original storage capacity. The dam represents the upstream limit of anadromous fish passage for Spring-run and Fall-run Chinook. OPPORTUNITIES FOR RECOVERY: Removal of mercury-contaminated sediment followed by removal or modification of Englebright Dam would open up a minimum of 60 additional miles of previously unreachable habitat for anadromous fish. Additional benefits of dam removal include restored natural flow, sediment, and nutrient regimes, reduced mercury methylation potential in the reservoir, and ultimately reduced mercury exposure risk for those who consume locally caught fish. The Sierra Fund is investigating previously unexplored options of sediment removal techniques for the accumulated hydraulic mine debris behind Englebright and the potential for multiple benefits, including sellable aggregates. NEXT STEPS: Mercury and sediment removal may make it feasible to restore longitudinal and lateral connectivity in the Yuba River if it allows for dam removal options or modification. TSF worked with Great Lakes Dredging Company to develop a preliminary feasibility study for sediment removal from Englebright. Specifically, we looked at the opportunity to remove 17M yd3 of sediment using a dredge. This is the volume of sediment that would need to be removed to allow for Englebright Dam to be lowered for a fish ladder. TSF is also working with Dennis Gathard of Gathard Engineering Consulting who wrote the preliminary feasibility study for Yuba River Fish Passage Improvement Investigation for National Marine Fisheries Service in April 2014 to determine why the opportunity for modification or removal of Englebright was not pursued. In 2014 dam modification, or lowering, to allow for volitional fish passage was estimated to cost between 60-64 million dollars. Blue Point Mine Past, Present, and Future HYDRAULIC MINING: Over the period of 1853 to 1893, gold mining rapidly changed from consisting of individual miners using pans-and-hands to industrialized mining. In their fervent quest to find gold, miners developed some of the most innovative engineering feats of their time to aid in the process. Hydraulic mining altered the topography of the Sierra Nevada headwaters as powerful water cannons (hydraulic monitors) were used to wash away mountaintops and cut into hillsides in search of gold-bearing gravels deposited in ancient river beds. Hydraulic mining was very successful in the Sierra because abundant surface water was available. By 1865, miners had constructed an estimated 5,000 miles of flumes, ditches, and canals to convey water to mine sites across the western slope of the Sierra. Historically, material “power washed” from the hillsides was directed through sluice ditches and tunnels. Often, miners added mercury to the material washing through these sluice ditches and tunnels to facilitate gold recovery, subsequently discharging mercury-contaminated sediments to adjacent waterways. BLUE POINT MINE PAST: This was once the site of the Gold- Rush era town of Sucker Flat – and of the Blue Point and Blue Gravel Mines, two of the richest hydraulic mines in California. The water for the operation came from Nevada City and Grass Valley in the Excelsior and China Ditches. The hydraulic slurry was carried out in long sluice tunnels carved at great expense through hard basaltic rock. The 2/3-mile long Excelsior Tunnel was built by crews working from either end and at a mid-point air shaft. The tunnel was lined with chunks of wood and mercury was distributed throughout to capture gold as the slurry passed through. By 1877 a reported $13 million in gold had been mined from Blue Point, but the vast amounts of rock and gravel washed into the river caused tremendous destruction downstream. In 1884, the Sawyer Decision, supported by the valley’s farmers, stopped the thriving industry in its tracks. BLUE POINT MINE PRESENT: Left alone and all but forgotten for over a century, the property has largely revegetated itself. The town of Sucker Flat has vanished, and is occupied only by the cows which graze its grasses. The unique geology remains exposed on the cliff walls, where the Smartsville intrusive complex, a Jurassic volcanic and plutonic arc, is one of the only known locations on earth where basalt is seen on the surface of the geologic profile. In 2008 a reclamation project combined recycled green waste and mine tailings to create topsoil, which was spread across the valley floor and seeded, and the following spring the wildflowers returned. BLUE POINT MINE FUTURE: The Excelsior Foundation has a vision for Blue Point – that its 505 acres of natural and historic resources, its ditches and trails, its escarpments and Yuba river access, be permanently protected and made available to the public, creating a total of over twelve hundred acres of conserved area stretching from Smartsville to the Yuba River and from Timbuctoo to Mooney Flat Road. Blue Point Mine Due Diligence on Mine-Scarred Lands In California’s ABANDONED MINE FEATURES: There are thousands of abandoned mine lands (AMLs) in California, many of which Gold Country, have both physical and chemical hazards associated with them. public funds Abandoned hydraulic mines and mine features are sources of have been used to mercury-contaminated sediment to downstream watersheds. acquire mining- impacted lands for conservation and LEGACY MINE SITE CHARACTERISTICS MAY INCLUDE: recreation without recognizing • Active Erosional Areas the physical and • Drain Tunnels chemical hazards •