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Copper Basin Mining District
National Information
Photos/Multimedia
Aerial view of the Apache Blast Area of the Copper Basin site.
- Environmental Legacy Site Photos
- Historic Site Photos
Additional Resources
- Site Cleanup Terms - can be found in EPA's glossary
- EPA Guides to Cleanup Technologies
- Superfund Community Involvement (PDF) (17 pp, 130K)
Site Summary Profile
EPA ID: TN0001890839Location: Polk County, TN
Lat/Long: 34.994756, -084.38248
Congressional District: 03
NPL Status: Superfund Alternative Approach
Affected Media: Sediments, Soil, Surface Water
Cleanup Status: Study Underway and Construction Underway - Physical cleanup activities have started.
Site Reuse/Redevelopment: Potential for Commercial/Light Industrial
Site Manager: Loften Carr (carr.loften@epa.gov)
Site Background
The Copper Basin Mining District site consists of approximately 30 square miles of land in Polk County, southeastern Tennessee and Fannin County, northern Georgia, near the state border with North Carolina. Extensive former copper and sulfur mining operations began at the site in the early 1800s, and for more than 150 years numerous companies and individuals were involved in various mining, refining, and manufacturing operations in the area.
As a result of former copper mining and sulfuric acid processing, the area of the site has been a deforested, barren, eroded landscape for decades. Over the past 25 years, various government agencies and private parties have taken steps to stabilize and re-vegetate this large area. Mining operations ceased in 1987, and sulfuric acid production was discontinued in 2000.
The site is not listed on the National Priorities List (NPL), but is considered to be an NPL-caliber site and is being addressed through the Superfund Alternative Approach. This approach uses the same investigation and cleanup process and standards that are used for sites listed on the NPL.
- Map of the Copper Basin Mining District
- Ocoee River Data Upstream of Copper Basin
- Ocoee River Data Downstream of Copper Basin
Threats and Contaminants
Mining and related activities have resulted in the environmental degradation of portions of the Copper Basin, including the North Potato Creek Watershed, the Davis Mill Creek Watershed, and parts of the Ocoee River. Waste materials from mining and processing activities remain as sources of contaminants in the form of acidic drainage and high levels of metals in the soils, sediments, and surface waters of the watersheds that drain into and impact the Ocoee River.
Acidic conditions and leaching metals have impaired water quality and deforestation has resulted in severe erosion. Oils containing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have been released to the environment from abandoned transformers. Abandoned and collapsing mine works and other deteriorating facilities and waste piles also pose significant physical hazards.
Site Cleanup Plan
The cleanup plan for the Copper Basin Mining District site covered five operable units (OUs): OU-1 (North Potato Creek Watershed), OU-2 (North Potato Creek Non-Time-Critical Removal), OU-3 (Davis Mill Creek Removal), OU-4 (Davis Mill Creek Watershed), and OU-5 (Ocoee River).
In January 2001, a Tennessee Department of Environmental Control (TDEC) Commissioners Order was issued for the cleanup of OU-1. Major components of the selected remedy included removal of wastes, installation of surface caps, and removal of deteriorating site infrastructure.
A remedial investigation and feasibility study (RI/FS) is currently underway for OU-4 and will be used to select a final surface water remedy for Davis Mill Creek, scheduled for summer 2010.
Likewise, a RI/FS is currently underway for OU-5. The final report is anticipated to be completed by fall 2009 and will be used to select a final remedy for the Ocoee River area.
Cleanup Progress
Potentially responsible parties (PRPs) are currently completing cleanup activities for OU-1, including demolition of buildings, waste removals, installation of a leachate collection system, and installation of caps over contaminated areas. The 300-acre tailings pond has been re-vegetated with native grasses and over 100,000 trees have been planted to reduce erosion. Soils and equipment that were contaminated with PCBs, as well as over 315,848 cubic yards of non-hazardous acid-generating waste materials, were removed from within the North Potato Creek Watershed in 2007 and 2008. In addition, a lime treatment plant to temporarily alleviate contaminant discharge to the Ocoee River has been in operation since January 10, 2005. The plant will remove 90 percent of the dissolved metals of ecological concern from the creek water and will raise pH of water discharged from the creek to the river from 3.3 to greater than 7.0.
Since 1991, a cumulative 25 billion gallons of water have been treated at the various water treatment plants in the Copper Basin. They have removed 16 million pounds of metals and neutralized 28 million pounds of acid from the creeks and mines that would have otherwise flowed into the Ocoee River.
Cleanup activities at OU-4 involved use of the existing Cantrell Flats Wastewater Treatment Plant to collect and treat contamination in the Davis Mill Creek, the underground mine waters, and stormwater. The plant has been in operation since November 18, 2002. The Belltown Creek and the Gypsum Pond Creek diversion systems were installed to route clean waters around the most heavily contaminated parts of the watershed and modifications have been made to existing dams to retain contaminated stormwater for treatment. The PRPs began a remedial investigation and feasibility study (RI/FS) for OU-4 in September 2005 and the final report is anticipated to be completed in fall 2009.
From November 18, 2002 until July 2008, the Cantrell Flats Wastewater Treatment Plant has removed approximately 16 million pounds of metals (iron, zinc, manganese, copper, lead, cadmium) and neutralized approximately 28 million pounds of acid from the creek that would have otherwise flowed into the Ocoee River.
Under OU-5, EPA is in the process of completing a phased RI/FS of 26 miles of the Ocoee River that have been impacted by the site. The Final RI Report was approved and released to the public in May 2008 and a Final Feasibility Study is anticipated by fall 2009.
Site cleanup activities are being led primarily by PRPs with oversight by EPA.
Enforcement Activities
In January 2001, EPA, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation and one of the potentially responsible parties, OXY, USA and its corporate affiliate Glenn Springs Holdings, Inc. entered into a Memorandum of Understanding and a series of enforceable state and federal legal agreements and orders. These agreements were designed to provide for immediate action in the short-term in order to protect the Ocoee River and begin the long-term environmental restoration of the Copper Basin Mining District site.
Community Involvement
EPA has conducted a range of community involvement activities at the Copper Basin Mining District site to solicit community input and to ensure that the public remains informed about site activities throughout the site cleanup process. Outreach activities have included public notices, interviews, and fact sheets on cleanup activities and updates.
Future Work
The RI/FS for OU-4 is anticipated to be complete in the summer of 2010; and the RI/FS for OU-5 is anticipated to be completed in fall 2009.
A surface water ROD for Davis Mill Creek is scheduled for summer 2010.
Site Administrative Documents
Site Repository
For more information or to view any site-related documents, please visit the site information repository at the following location. As new documents are generated, they will be placed in the information repository for public information.
Ducktown Chamber of Commerce
134 Main Street
Ducktown, TN 37326
For documents not available on the website, please contact the Region 4 Freedom of Information Office.