This is the final article in a three-part series covering Sulphur Bank Mercury Mine Superfund site.
By Ken R. Wells
kennethrwells@yahoo.com
@KenRWells on Twitter
Clearlake Oaks >> Complicating the cleanup of the Sulphur Bank Mercury Mine Superfund site are two legal disputes: one over who will pay for the cleanup and the second over whether it is feasible or even possible to clean up the heavy metal from the lake and its accompanying ecosystem.
Because it is so unlikely to happen, no agency has ever done a cost estimate of dredging the lake to remove the mercury-contaminated sediments but several water officials say it would likely rival or surpass the cost of the Vietnam Superfund site cleanup. Others say that from a technical standpoint, it would be nearly impossible at any cost to remove all contaminants using current technology.
They also say that dredging may ultimately cause more problems than solve since it would greatly increase mercury levels near the lake’s surface and increase contamination throughout the lake.
In 2012, the EPA entered into a settlement with the Bradley Mining Company and Bradley Trust to transfer almost all of their land at Sulphur Bank into a new trust. The new trust was created by the Bradley Mining Company and the Worthen Bradley Family Trust and is managed by an independent trustee in Colorado.
Under the consent agreement, 380 acres of uncontaminated land was set aside as compensation to the Elem Indian Colony for natural resource damage to tribal land by Bradley Mining.
However, the colony has not yet decided whether it will accept the land, according to the EPA.
Officials of the Elem Indian Colony could not be reached for comment as of press time.
Also, after the original claim was filed by the EPA, Bradley Mining filed a counterclaim, alleging that the federal government was responsible for cleanup-related costs. As part of the settlement that created the new trust, the federal government agreed to pay itself for some of the future cleanup costs.
Under the agreement, the U.S. Treasury’s Judgement Fund agreed to pay $7.2 million to the EPA’s Sulphur Bank Superfund Special Account for future cleanup at the site.
The EPA currently has no pending lawsuits against any mining or other corporate interests regarding Sulphur Bank, according to the EPA’s Riley.
The Elem Indian Colony of Pomo Indians was built atop contaminated waste from the mine in the 1970s, long before it became a Superfund site. Recent tests have found mercury levels in their blood are higher than people in the area who don’t eat contaminated fish. Many people in the community have moved out of the area despite the federal government spending tens of millions of dollars removing dirt from contaminated homes and roadways.
The colony of about 100 members is near the northwest corner of the mine site and has been exposed to very high levels of mercury and arsenic from the mine. Also, mine wastes are underneath a number of homes and yards in the Colony.
Mine wastes were used by the Bureau of Indian Affairs to cover roadbeds of both dirt and paved roads it built throughout tribal land in the early 1970s. It was also used in the construction of pads under tribal houses.
Much of the contaminated wastes were removed by EPA contractors between 2006 and 2007 along with rebuilding 17 houses. The remaining contaminated soil and ore on Elem tribal lands are covered with a layer of clean, uncontaminated soil.
The Future
The EPA plans to move forward with a two-part effort to cleanup much of the remaining toxic mine wastes, including the Herman Pit, on the land and to reduce mercury levels in Clear Lake. These efforts are expected to start in 2018 although there is not yet a timetable for the cleanup nor has Congress approved funding.
On land, “Our goal is to stop additional mercury from entering Clear Lake,” Riley said.
Regarding the lake, “Our long-term goal is to reduce the risk of mercury getting into fish in the lake,” he said.
One option that is probably off the table, Riley said, is dredging the lake, an endeavor that would likely cost hundreds of millions of dollars.
“I don’t think we would consider dredging all of the lake,” Riley said. “The highest levels of mercury are closer to the mine,” in the Oaks Arm of Clear Lake.
He said an alternative to dredging might be to stop the flow of mercury into the lake.
The EPA has funding to do feasibility studies of cleaning up the land and water but beyond that, the agency will have to seek additional money from Congress. But based on the current hostile political climate in Washington, the EPA may have to operate at existing or reduced funding levels.
That means the more than 400 Superfund sites in the U.S. could very well be competing for a limited pot of funds and there is no guarantee where Sulphur Bank will end up on the list of a few priority projects.
“We do have to make tough decisions,” Riley said.
