Ledger-Dispatch

By Kelly Scott (kenos@ledger-dispatch.com) =

Areas adjacent to the Kennedy Mine are = among the=20 sites that will be evaluated for mining contamination through a = U.S.=20 Environmental Protection Agency grant awarded by the state = Department of=20 Toxic Substances Control.

Photo by: Courtesy to the Ledger=20 Dispatch
Two historic mining towns = finally have the=20 means to determine the lasting environmental impacts of the Gold Rush = mines=20 around which they were built.

The cities of Jackson and Sutter = Creek have=20 been awarded a $200,000 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Brownfields = Grant=20 for a community-wide hazardous substances assessment. The grants are = being=20 administered by the California Department of Toxic Substances Control, a = state=20 version of the EPA, to assess what contamination, if any, still lingers=20 underneath the soil.

On Tuesday, Jackson City Manager Mike Daly = clarified=20 to the council that this grant is separate from the $80,000 grant that = will be=20 used for Kennedy Mine tailing analysis. Daly anticipates the information = from=20 the resulting study will help assess the status of the city's expansive = Oro De=20 Amador property, 159 acres of land the city would like to use for = recreational=20 purposes.

In Sutter Creek, the grant money will be used to = examine and=20 develop a clean-up process for the Knight Foundry, a historic blacksmith = shop,=20 and the Eureka Mine property that was recently donated to the city by = the Fuller=20 and Bryson families. Other sites may be looked at as well.

"The = Mother=20 Lode area is in a unique situation in terms of potential environmental=20 contamination," said Sean Rabe, assistant city manager for Sutter Creek. = "Obviously, this entire area has rich historic value because of the gold = mining=20 that occurred here."

Jim Tjosvold, project manager for the DTSC, = told the=20 Ledger Dispatch the community-wide assessment for Jackson and Sutter = Creek were=20 one of three grants awarded to the Mother Lode area. The Oro De Amador = and=20 Kennedy Mine properties were chosen from a competitive pool of = applications=20 submitted in October.

"We are looking at the extent of the = contaminants=20 on the surface that could affect or define the use of the property," = Tjosvold=20 said.

"By assessing toxic wastes left behind from past mining = activities,=20 we are paving the way for these Brownfield sites to be brought back to=20 productive use," added DTSC Director Maureen Gorsen in a release = announcing the=20 grants. "This will help ensure that communities and the downstream = groundwater=20 environment are protected from the toxic legacy of our mining=20 past."

Brownfield sites are ones where expansion or redevelopment = can=20 become problematic with the presence of hazardous waste left from past = mining=20 activities. The DTSC grant of $200,000 will focus on the assessment of = mining=20 waste on public lands and the higher profile development projects within = the=20 area. In addition, funds will be used to inventory mining-related = Brownfield=20 properties in the Mother Lode area, as well as incorporate survey = information=20 into a geographic system. Recommendations on a clean-up process will be = provided=20 when the identification of contaminated areas is complete.

Daly = said=20 several recent projects proposed for Jackson have involved former mine = sites.=20 The grant for initial assessment and general inventory throughout the = area is=20 one the city has been anticipating.

"This grant will work on = providing=20 the information and resources to the city and property owners for the = re-use of=20 the lands," Daly said.

Rabe said grants like the one from DTSC = help the=20 city identify where contamination may be in order to assist the city in = clean-up=20 planning. He added that it was incumbent on local governments to strike = the=20 balance of preserving history. "At the same time, the byproducts (of = that=20 history) can be pretty nasty stuff," he said. "Identifying potential = mitigation=20 measures will protect these resources for generations to = come."

Jerry=20 Budrick contributed to this report.

Kelly = Scott