Region 8
Serving Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming and 27 Tribal Nations
Superfund Program
National Information
Regional Information
Site Information
National Priorities List (NPL) History
Proposed Date
4/27/2005
Final Date
9/14/2005
Standard Mine in Ruby Mining District
Site Type: Final NPL Site
City: Ruby Mining District
County: Gunnison
EPA ID#: CO0002378230
Site SPILL ID NO.: 08JM
Site ALIASES: Micawber Mine, Ruby South Mining District
Congressional District: 3rd
Map showing the location of Standard Mine
Site Status & Updates
Community Advisory Group (the "CAG") meeting
A public meeting will be held on May 26, 2009 at 1:00 in the Crested Butte Town Hall. EPA wil be discussing updated results of the bioreactor water treatment pilot study (PDF, 25 pp, 7.7 MB; about PDF files) and the schedule of sampling events this summer.
For information on public meetings, please contact Libby Faulk, Community Involvement Coordinator for EPA, at 303-312-6083.
Site Description
The Standard Mine (the "Site") is located on 10 acres in the Ruby Mining District of the Gunnison National Forest approximately 30 miles north of Gunnison and 10 miles west of the Town of Crested Butte, Gunnison County, Colorado. The contaminants of concern are primarily heavy metals with samples showing elevated levels of manganese, lead, zinc, cadmium, and copper. The Site releases a high flow of 70 gallons per minute (the "gpm") and 5-20 gpm (low flow) of groundwater from the abandoned mine workings to Elk Creek depending on the season.
Elk Creek flows through the Site and -- during high flow periods -- flows into the impoundment, depositing heavy metals into Coal Creek which runs through the town of Crested Butte until Coal Creek meets the Slate River. The Crested Butte municipal drinking water intake is on Coal Creek. As a result, there is a potential threat to downstream water users from the Standard Mine.
The Site is located at 11,000 ft. elevation in a very remote and isolated location on the south flank of the Scarp Ridge in Elk Basin. It is only accessible in the summer by four-wheel-drive vehicles, by foot or by mountain bike. The Site consists of waste piles along with open and unmarked adits (horizontal) and shafts (vertical) with the following characteristics:
- 8400 feet of drifts on six levels
- 53,560 cubic yards of waste rock
- 29,340 cubic yards of mill tailings
- non-engineered and unlined surface impoundment 300 feet in diameter and 15 feet deep constructed entirely of waste rock
- dilapidated buildings and rail structures
Silver mining activity began in the southern Ruby Mining District in 1874, and continued up to 1974 at several mine sites. Standard Mine was one of the three largest producing silver mines in the area. The other two are the Keystone Mine (owned by Phelps Dodge) and the Forest Queen Mine. None of these mines is currently active except for water treatment at the Keystone Mine. The Standard Mine was called the most environmentally-degraded mine Site in the entire Ruby Mining District by a report from the Colorado Geological Survey.
Site Risk
| Media Affected | Contaminants | Source of Contamination |
| surface water, groundwater, soil | arsenic, lead, zinc, cadmium, copper, chromium and managanese | Mining |
Mining operations have greatly disturbed the land creating highly mineralized conditions at the Site. Mineralized waste rock exposed to air and water causes acidic conditions to mobilize the release of heavy metals to the surrounding environment. These heavy metals are deposited into Elk Creek which flows into Coal Creek and eventually to downstream water users.
Cleanup Progress
A Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study (the "RI/FS") began after the conclusion of the public comment period for the NPL (the "NPL") listing process. A RI is the first step taken to characterize the Site. This consists of collecting information on the physical aspects of the Site such as types and location of contamination. The information is analyzed and presented in an RI Report that is used for addressing potential cleanup actions.
The next step is to prepare an FS which is an evaluation of several alternatives for cleanup of the Site contamination. The FS uses information collected by the RI, as well as a risk assessment, to determine the cleanup goals for the Site.
In the meantime, under EPA's Emergency Response Program, a non-time critical process was initiated to address more immediate contamination concerns at the Site. EPA, under a contract with URS Operating Services, developed and made available to the public an Engineering Evaluation/Cost Analysis (the "EE/CA") for the Site. The first phase of the EE/CA discussed options for identifying an appropriate location for a repository to contain contaminants removed from the Standard Mine Site. The second phase of the EE/CA focused on selection of the repository Site, capping alternatives, and removal alternatives for addressing mine waste at the Site, including the tailings impoundment located adjacent to Elk Creek. The work proposed in the EE/CA is near completion.
2006 To Present -- Cleanup Activities
During the 2006 construction season some of the activities that EPA accomplished were:
- Road improvements to improve access to the Site for cleanup activities.
- Channelizing of surface water to reduce the potential for contamination of the surface water and reduce the amount of water that flows into the tailings impoundment.
- Centralized the mining debris to facilitate removal of contaminated materials.
- Re-channeled Elk Creek to protect Elk Creek from contaminated soils at the Site and to keep Elk Creek water form eroding and transporting contaminated soils and materials during the cleanup.
In December, 2006 EPA made available for public comment the first phase of the Engineering Evaluation/Cost Analysis (the "EE/CA") that discussed proposed options for the location of a repository Site. A repository Site is a central place where hazardous materials removed from the Standard Mine can be permanently stored and maintained to ensure that recontamination does not occur. The second phase of the EE/CA covering the repository design was available for public comment in May 2007. EPA's response to comments received and attachments can be found under the Site Document section below.
During the 2007 construction season, EPA built a mine waste repository to permanently contain waste rock and tailings which were removed to the repository later in the 2007 construction season. By the end of the construction season, EPA removed approximately 50,000 cub yards of waste material, which included full removal of the tailings impoundment. EPA also installed a passive treatment pilot scale bioreactor to determine if this type of passive water treatment is effective at the mine's high elevation and cold winter climate. In addition, EPA initiated a revegatation pilot study to help determine successful methods for establishing vegetation within the excavated areas and to support reclamation efforts to be implemented at a later time. For more specific information please see the Standard Mine Fact Sheet dated December 2007 in the Site Documents section.
During the 2008 construction season, EPA accomplished the following cleanup activities:
- Installation of sediment controls along Elk Creek to reduce the risk of sediment flowing into the creek.
- Excavation and hauling of contaminated soil to the repository.
- Screening of soil taken from a borrow area to be used for cap the repository and future revegetation activities.
- Application of compost, lime, fertilizer, and top soil were added to upper mine levels where clean soil was taken to amend the soil for vegetation.
- Restoration and realignment of Elk Creek.
- Completion of the repository, including the installation of draining ditches around the perimeter.
- Revegetation of areas impacted by cleanup activities.
- Continued monitoring of the passive treatment pilot scale bioreactor resumed for the summer.
Community Involvement
Community Involvement Plan
According to the National Contingency Plan (NCP) 40 CFR 300.430(c)(2)(ii), a Community Involvement Plan (the "CIP") is required as part of any remedial action at a Superfund site. A CIP specifies the outreach activities that EPA will undertake to address community concerns and expectations. EPA has finalized the Standard Mine Community Involvement Plan. The final plan is available on this webSite and included in the information repository located at the Crested Butte Library. The CIP is located under the Site Document section below.
Community Advisory Group
A Community Advisory Group (the "CAG") has been organized for the Site cleanup. Participants include EPA, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (the "CDPHE"), the Forest Service, local government and citizens, however the meetings remain open to any citizen who would like volunteer or simply come to observe. Information concerning the topics of discussion and the agenda can be found in the Notes. The meetings will be advertised in the Crested Butte News one week in advance. The name of the CAG for Standard Mine is the Standard Mine Advisory Group (the "SMAG").
EPA provides Technical Assistance Grants (the "TAG") to communities to help citizens understand site-related information. A TAG can be used to hire a technical advisor to explain to the community technical information related to the cleanup and help articulate the community's concerns. In 2006, community members in Crested Butte applied for and were awarded a TAG through the EPA. The group that received the grant is called the Standard Mine Technical Advisory Group (the "SMTAG").
If you have any questions about the SMAG or the SMTAG or would like to be added to either email list, please contact Libby Faulk, Community Involvement Coordinator, at 1 (800) 227-8917 ext. 6083 or email faulk.libby@epa.gov.
Site Documents
Underground Assessment of the Standard Mine Superfund Site, December 2007 PDF (41 pp, 1.8MB)
Standard Mine Underground Assessment PDF : December 17, 2007 (44 pp, 3.3MB)
Note: the file above contains, on the final two pages, the Level 3 and Level 5 Standard Mine Maps
Summary of Standard Mine Underground Investigation PDF (16 pp, 6.5MB)
Hydrogeochemical Investigation of the Standard Mine Vicinity PDF (18 pp, 2MB)
Standard Mine Spring Surface Water Sampling Data: September 17-19, 2007 (Excel file)
Data and Field Parameters - SMAG Version (Excel file)
EPA Letter re: Response to Comments Submitted for Phase I EE/CA PDF (2 pp, 595K)
EPA Response to Comments Submitted for Phase I EE/CA PDF (20 pp, 396K)
US Fish and Wildlife Data Interpretation - Standard Mine Site PDF (7 pp, 376K)
Final CIP, June 2006 PDF (25 pp, 351K)
Figure2: Standard Mine Location PDF (932K)
Figure 1: Site Location PDF (1.2MB)
Figure3: Level 1 PDF (933K)
Contacts
Christina Progess
Remedial Project Manager
U.S. EPA Region 8 (EPR-SR)
1595 Wynkoop Street
Denver, CO 80202-1129
303 312-6009 or
1 (800) 227-8917 ext. 6009
progess.christina@epa.gov
Libby Faulk
Community Involvement Coordinator
U.S. EPA, Region 8 (8OC)
1595 Wynkoop Street
Denver, Colorado 80202-1129
Office: 303-312-6083 or
1-800-227-8917 ext. 6083
faulk.libby@epa.gov
Jim Lewis
State Superfund Project Manager
Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment
4300 Cherry Creek Drive South
Denver CO 80246-1530
303.692.3390