The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Bulkhead to be installed after winter
By Adam Broderick
Stakeholders with the Environmental Protection Agency presented county commissioners and the Crested Butte Town Council with an update on the Standard Mine cleanup project on Tuesday, August 4.
Water that flows through the Standard Mine, on the side of Mt. Emmons near Kebler Pass Road, percolates through the different levels of the mine and comes out the bottom level contaminated with heavy metals. It then flows into Elk Creek, and then into Coal Creek. The EPA developed a cleanup strategy in 2011 and is still in the first phase of cleanup.
Project manager Christina Progess explained that the EPA’s main goal is to reduce the amount of contaminated water coming out of the mine. In order to do that, they need to get back into the mine, but it is currently collapsed at the bottom level. The plan is to install a new tunnel that parallels the collapsed tunnel to provide access and then plug the tunnel to control water flow.
“This summer we’re looking at driving a tunnel adjacent to Level 1 and ultimately putting in a bulkhead—a.k.a. concrete plug,” Progess said. “There are several shafts that connect Level 3 to Level 1, so the water becomes more and more contaminated as it percolates through the mine. We want to route the water out of Level 3. There are three shafts in Level 3 that we’re looking at closing so the water doesn’t flow down into Levels 2 and 1.
“There’s a lot of work to be done,” Progess continued. “It’s a short construction season at 11,000 feet. We’re going to work hopefully through October to get this work done. Once we have rehabilitated the workings, the next step would be to design the bulkhead this winter so that we’re prepared to install it next spring. That would close up the first phase of cleanup.”
According to Progess, the next phase would be conducted in another three to five years to determine if additional water treatment is necessary. If so, the EPA would enter into a second cleanup phase, which would be some sort of passive bioreactor treatment.
Progess said they’ve had really good success with that treatment technology during small-scale trials at the mine site, removing 95 percent to 98 percent of metals. They’re just waiting to see how effective the first phase strategy below ground turns out to be.
“We hope to get as much of this phase done before winter forces us to stop,” Progess said.
