In explaining the next steps in the prospective placement of the
New Idria mercury mine on the national Superfund list, members from
the United States Environmental Protection Agency gave a short
presentation to the county board of supervisors during a meeting
Tuesday.
In explaining the next steps in the prospective placement of the New Idria mercury mine on the national Superfund list, members from the United States Environmental Protection Agency gave a short presentation to the county board of supervisors during a meeting Tuesday.
In March, the New Idria Mine site in southern San Benito County was listed as a proposed site to be included on the EPA’s National Priorities List, which would make it eligible for Superfund money. The Superfund list is a government program that helps clean up the nation’s worst hazardous waste sites, according to the EPA.
New Idria project manager Kelly Manheimer told the board that placement on the list might take some time but precautionary measures will take place if necessary.
“We will look at it and see what needs to be done,” she said. “We will do what makes the most sense.”
Manheimer said the EPA might try to block off or stop the mercury runoff into the riverbeds as a precautionary measure, or the agency might do nothing if work on the site could cause more damage.
“We’ll look at all the options from doing nothing at all, to doing a complete cleanup that includes dredging everything,” she said.
Manheimer warned that it could take more than a year.
“This is not a quick process,” she said. “It’s a very time-consuming process.”
The mine is under consideration to be put on the priority list because of its mercury runoff that pours into nearby waterbeds – and possibly the San Francisco Bay. The mine was closed in 1972 because of its waste pollution and cost of an extensive cleanup. Since that time, the county and state have had difficulties discovering who is the landowner. The lack of an apparent owner has caused some delay to the cleanup of the project.
In 1998, the EPA almost placed the mine on the priories list before choosing not to because there were other dangerous properties in the country. But it actually is rare for such sites, with little or no impact on humans, to make the list. The New Idria mine is one of the first ecologically driven sites to be proposed to go on the national priories list, Manheimer said.
Since 1999, only five ecological risk sites have been listed, she said.
“It is true we do tend to take the worst ones first and those that impact human health,” Manheimer said. “One thing I do want to point out is that actually listing this site on the National Priorities List is pretty groundbreaking for EPA because so far, we have not made a connection to a human health threat for this site.”
To start work on the site, the EPA will continue to conduct studies on the area to determine its best plan of action. To continue through with the Superfund money, the county will have to wait until the rest of the proposed sites’ studies have finished.
The EPA proposed 10 sites to be added to the priorities list – including the New Idria mine – and all studies must be completed before they are placed on the list.
“All of them need to be finished before we move forward,” Manheimer said to the board of supervisors.
The public comment period for the New Idria mine ends on May 9, and depending on the number of comments, the review could take months, Manheimer said.
Addressing comments made in March, Supervisor Robert Rivas said he was trying to “light a fire under” the citizens of the county to prevent something similar from happening again.
“We are just as important as the other counties in California,” he said.
Supervisors expressed their support for the cleanup and placement on the list.
“I just want to thank you for your efforts and recognizing that we do have a problem,” Supervisor Jerry Muenzer said. “We’ve known we’ve had this problem for years and we just cannot get on the right list. I just wanted to thank you and let you know that you – I think I can speak for the board – you have our support for whatever you need.”
Supervisor Margie Barrios asked County Administrative Officer Rich Inman to write a letter in support of the cleanup and schedule it for a future meeting.
“I certainly want to take advantage of that because it is beneficial to our county,” Barrios said.
