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National Information
Regional Information
Site Information
About Basin Mining
Background Information
Town of Basin OU
Basin Watershed OU
Site Documents
Contacts

Superfund Program

Basin Mining Area


Near Basin, Montana, Jefferson County, Congressional District - At Large
EPA ID# MTD982572562



About the Basin Mining Area Site

EPA listed the Basin Mining Area to the Superfund National Priorities List on October 22, 1999, due to mining-waste problems in the watershed and mining waste in the Town of Basin. The mining area includes the watersheds of Basin and Cataract Creek and portions of the Boulder River below the confluence with these heavily impacted streams. Listing makes the site eligible for federal cleanup funds while EPA seeks to recover costs from the parties responsible for the contamination, or to complete the work if no parties are found. The NPL designation also allows EPA to cooperate with other agencies in the cleanup. Under Superfund, affected communities are eligible to receive Technical Assistance Grants from EPA to provide a technical advisor for independent review of the proposed work.

Background Information

Mine wastes impact Basin and Cataract Creeks and the soils within the town of Basin. Contaminants include arsenic, cadmium, copper, lead and other metals. Listing allows EPA to look at the watersheds in a comprehensive way in cooperation with other agencies and community groups. The Site is divided into two Operable Units (OUs): the town of Basin and the Basin Watershed.

Town of Basin OU

Environmental Progress

In the summer of 1998, EPA conducted a removal in the Town of Basin OU near residential properties. This action removed some of the mining waste sources located in the community of Basin. Since then, the Agency completed a remedial investigation in October 2000 and a feasibility study in December 2000.

A human health risk assessment was completed in October of 2000 as well as a Proposed Plan for clean up in January 2001. The Record of Decision was finished in March of 2001, with an estimated cost of $3.9 million. The residential component of the remedy began in September 2002 and was completed in November 2003. Source area cleanup began in May 2004 was completed in the fall of 2004. OU1, the Town of Basin Project, is now complete.

Basin Watershed OU

Environmental Progress

Working in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service, the EPA conducted cleanup of the mining wastes at the Buckeye/Enterprise, Crystal and Bullion Mines located in the Basin Creek and Cataract Watersheds. The clean-ups were completed in 2002. These projects were managed as EPA Removal Program -lead projects, funding was provided by each agency according to the ownership (federal or private). The cost of cleanup was portioned out according to the ownership as well. Wastes were disposed of in the joint EPA/Forest Service Luttrell Repository.

Site Documents

Basin Mining 2008 Five-Year Review Report (LARGE PDF file: 8.6 MB)

Contacts

U.S. EPA Montana Department of Environmental Quality VIEW DOCUMENTS AT:







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