GRAND LAKE O’ THE CHEROKEES Natural Resource Damages: Restoration and Compensation Determination Plan Image by Andre Bonacin April 2014 (This page intentionally left blank) Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 1 | INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................... 6 1.1 AUTHORITY ............................................................................................................................................ 6 1.2 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION ........................................................................................................................ 10 1.3 ABOUT RESTORATION PROJECT SELECTION ......................................................................................... 10 1.4 REPORT ORGANIZATION ....................................................................................................................... 10 CHAPTER 2 | NATURAL RESOURCES OF THE ASSESSMENT AREA, CONTAMINANTS OF CONCERN AND SOURCES ............................................................................ 13 2.1 HISTORY OF MINING IN THE TRI-STATE AREA ..................................................................................... 13 Mining and mineral processing, and the generation of wastes ........................................................ 13 2.2 RELEASES AND PATHWAYS .................................................................................................................. 14 2.3 NATURAL RESOURCES IN THE ASSESSMENT AREA ............................................................................... 19 Surface water resources ................................................................................................................... 19 Biotic resources ................................................................................................................................ 20 Tribal resource use ........................................................................................................................... 21 Other human use............................................................................................................................... 24 2.4 CONTAMINANTS OF CONCERN .............................................................................................................. 25 Cadmium .......................................................................................................................................... 25 Lead .................................................................................................................................................. 26 Zinc ................................................................................................................................................... 26 Sediments .......................................................................................................................................... 27 2.5 NATURE AND EXTENT OF CONTAMINATION .......................................................................................... 27 Fish ................................................................................................................................................... 33 CHAPTER 3 | SUMMARY OF INJURY EVALUATIONS ................................................................... 35 3.1 SURFACE WATER - SEDIMENTS ............................................................................................................ 35 Comparisons with Sediment Quality Guidelines .............................................................................. 35 Sediment Toxicity Testing ................................................................................................................. 36 Pathway ............................................................................................................................................ 37 3.2 SURFACE WATER – WATER QUALITY ................................................................................................... 37 3.3 FISH ................................................................................................................................................. 38 3.4 TRIBAL LOST USE .................................................................................................................................. 38 Injury quantification – summary of approach .................................................................................. 39 3.5 OTHER LOST USE .................................................................................................................................. 43 CHAPTER 4 | RESTORATION ALTERNATIVES................................................................................ 44 4.1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................... 44 4.2 AQUATIC RESTORATION ALTERNATIVES .............................................................................................. 44 Alternative 1: No Action ................................................................................................................... 44 Alternative 2: Preserve grand Lake Buffer ....................................................................................... 44 Alternative 3: Preserve High Quality Riparian Corridors ............................................................... 45 Alternative 4: Improve Riparian Buffers .......................................................................................... 46 Alternative 5: Dredge selected areas within grand lake .................................................................. 47 Alternative 6: Native aquatic plant establishment ............................................................................ 49 Alternative 7: Tribal cultural projects .............................................................................................. 50 5.1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................... 51 CHAPTER 5 | EVALUATION OF ALTERNATIVES, INCLUDING ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES...................................................................................................................................... 51 5.2 AQUATIC RESTORATION ALTERNATIVES .............................................................................................. 52 Alternative 1: No Action ................................................................................................................... 52 Alternative 2: Preserve grand Lake Buffer ....................................................................................... 52 Alternative 3: Preserve High Quality Riparian Corridors ............................................................... 53 Alternative 4: Improve Riparian Buffer ............................................................................................ 54 i Alternative 5: Dredge selected areas within grand lake .................................................................. 55 Alternative 6: Native aquatic plant establishment ............................................................................ 56 Alternative 7: Tribal Cultural Projects ............................................................................................ 58 5.3 SUMMARY OF IMPACTS BY ALTERNATIVE ............................................................................................ 59 5.4 PREFERRED ALTERNATIVES ................................................................................................................. 60 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................................ 62 APPENDIX A | ESTIMATED COSTS FOR ALTERNATIVE 5 ......................................................... A-1 APPENDIX B | TRIBAL FISH COLLECTION LOST USE ANALYSIS ........................................... B-1 APPENDIX C | SUMMARY OF ESTIMATED COSTS TO DEVELOP TRIBAL AQUATIC FACILITY . ........................................................................................................................... C-1 APPENDIX D | PUBLIC COMMENTS RECEIVED BY THE TRUSTEE COUNCIL .................... D-1 APPENDIX E | RESPONSES TO PUBLIC COMMENTS RECEIVED BY THE TRUSTEE COUNCIL .............................................................................................................................. E-1 List of Figures Figure 1 Grand Lake O’ The Cherokees Watershed ....................................................................................... 7 Figure 2 Tribal Jurisdictions in Northeast Oklahoma ..................................................................................... 9 Figure 3 Schematic of Lead/Zinc Production and Waste Generation ........................................................... 14 Figure 4 Grand Lake O’ The Cherokees and Mining/Milling Waste Areas ................................................. 16 Figure 5 Conceptual Model for Metal Sources, Transport, and Fate in the Tri-State Mining District ......... 17 Figure 6 Overview of Mining in the Subsites, Designated Areas, and Subdistricts of the TSMD ................ 18 Figure 7 Turkey Creek with Mine Waste Bars, Kansas ................................................................................ 19 Figure 8 Partial