Temporary fix finished to keep polluted water out of Hassayampa River
A short term solution to a long term problem
PRESCOTT, AZ (AZFamily) — The Senator Mine located just 10 miles from downtown Prescott in the national forest has created uproar among locals for years.
However, after an investigation this spring showed the mine could contaminate a nearby river, the state had to step in.
Tina LePage with the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) said this project is unusual.
“We never want to do anything like this,” LePage said. “The agency does not want to have to do emergency actions to divert a river.”
LePage said the Senator Mine, owned by Gold Paradise Peak Inc., installed a concrete plug in a historic horizontal mine shaft, redirecting discharge water from the mine into a pile of waste called tailing.
“The major environmental concern was that those mine tailings that are probably about 40 feet high would be saturated with water and slough into the Hassayampa River, causing ecological issues for downstream communities,” LePage said
The ADEQ said there have been no major changes to water quality, but before fixes were complete, storms and snow melt near the area caused concern that contaminants from the mine would enter the river.
Ecologist Joe Trudeau, who lives 5 miles from the mine, said it’s still a danger to the public.
“This polluted water flows off of private land and onto the Prescott National Forest, where people go swimming, picnicking, you know, mountain biking, camping, all sorts of outdoor recreation activities,” Trudeau said.
Trudeau said they’ve heard rumors about the mine for years before it began operations without notifying them.
The community started a petition to stop the mine, which now has almost 39,000 signatures.
Since June and within 90 days, the ADEQ has completed the following:
- Obtained Clean Water Act Section 404 Permit: ADEQ collaborated with the local office of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and quickly obtained the permit necessary to conduct the emergency actions.
- Installed French Drains: ADEQ installed French drains to divert mine-impacted water away from the tailings to prevent water from the mine from seeping into the tailings and waste rock piles.
- Installed Pipeline: ADEQ installed a 42-inch temporary pipeline approximately 800 feet long to divert the Hassayampa River’s flow away from the tailings and waste rock piles.
“That was an undertaking that we’ve never done before at a DEQ. So to get that done within that time frame was quite a feat,” LePage said.
However, this is just a temporary fix. LePage said they are still trying to figure out a long-term solution, which includes getting Gold Paradise Peak to pay for the damage.
“This is going to be in a very expensive project,” she said. “So that’s why we’re working with GPPI and trying to figure out some way that they can also help out on the funding.”
However, with a history of little action from the mine, Trudeau said he’s concerned the state and residents will have to pay up.
“At this point, the taxpayer in Arizona is footing the bill for dealing with these miners that are just kind of running roughshod over our regular,” he said.
The National Forest Service will hold a public meeting at the Rosser Community Center on Wednesday, Sept. 25, from 6 to 8 p.m.
Trudeau said they’ll be discussing actions that the Forest Service is taking on the public land component to put in protections for the Hassayampa River and he encourages the community to come out.
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