Despite the approval of new mercury limits for the San Francisco
Bay, representatives of the Central Valley Regional Water Quality
Control Board said there are no plans to clean up San Benito’s
defunct New Idria Quicksilver Mine.
Hollister – Despite the approval of new mercury limits for the San Francisco Bay, representatives of the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board said there are no plans to clean up San Benito’s defunct New Idria Quicksilver Mine.
“There really isn’t drainage from (New Idria) into the river and into the delta,” said Patrick Morris, an engineer with the water board.
The state water board recently approved a 70-year cleanup plan for mercury in the bay. According to the San Francisco water board, the state’s Central Valley region is the single largest source of mercury contamination to the bay.
Carrie Austin, an environmental engineer with the San Francisco board, previously told the Free Lance the San Francisco Bay plan calls for reduced mercury drainage from the Central Valley. But details of that reduction, including the possibility of cleaning up New Idria, are up to the Central Valley board, Austin said.
Morris said his agency hopes to complete its own plans for mercury reduction by the fall. New Idria probably won’t be a part of those plans. Instead, the agency intends to focus on cleaning mercury mines that are “a lot closer” to the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.
“We’re not anticipating that there’s going to be any problems meeting the allocation,” added Ken Landau, assistant executive director with the Central Valley board.
The mine, which lies around 70 miles south of Hollister, was one of North America’s largest mercury producers during the 19th and 20th centuries, but it shut down in 1974. Now, acidic water flowing out of the mountain has polluted nearby San Carlos Creek.
Central Valley board representatives have said New Idria is on a list of around 40 abandoned mines that need to be cleaned, but it’s not a priority.
The mine is in Supervisor Reb Monaco’s district. Monaco said the mine needs to be cleaned up and the historic mining town needs to be preserved. But those projects aren’t at the top of his agenda, either.
“Given the location of the site and the number of people who come into contact with it, no, it doesn’t have a high priority on a global scale,” Monaco said.
Monaco said he hadn’t expected New Idria to be included in the Central Valley board’s mercury plan. Ray Iddings of the nonprofit New Idria Foundation said he didn’t expect the mercury to be cleaned up, either.
Iddings, who hopes to turn the area into a historic park, added that the mine’s pollution and danger are often exaggerated.
“It’s a shame that people are afraid to go out there,” he said.
Anthony Ha covers local government for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or
ah*@fr***********.com
.
