FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Regional Forester Issues Time Critical Removal Action Approval Memo
Patagonia, Arizona – Yesterday, the Southwestern Regional Office of the US Forest Service issued an Action Memo for “Time Critical” clean up of the abandoned Lead Queen mine in the Patagonia Mountains on the Coronado National Forest, approximately 6 miles south of the town of Patagonia, Arizona.
Members of the Patagonia Area Resource Alliance (PARA) discovered the abandoned mine over-flowing with toxic, orange sludge into a tributary of Harshaw Creek, last September. PARA documented the spill and notified authorities. The Harshaw Creek tributary eventually flows into the Town of Patagonia, Sonoita Creek and Patagonia Lake.
As the land owners of the Lead Queen mine, the Forest Service was issued two Notice of Violations from the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality: “Addition of a pollutant to navigable waters from a point source without a permit,” and “Discharge of storm water associated with an industrial activity without a permit.”
Test results showed off-the-chart concentrations of lead and arsenic in water, soil and waste rock samples at the Lead Queen site. High concentrations of zinc, copper and aluminum were also found. All of these heavy metals are listed as “hazardous substances” and can cause serious – or even deadly – health issues. The red-orange color of the sludge was due to extreme concentrations of iron.
The USFS document stated the clean up aims to reduce potential exposure of the hazardous heavy metals to “human populations, animals or the food chain.”
“This is a good start, but I’ve seen many more abandoned mines in the Patagonia Mountains that also need to be cleaned up. The mining industry has a well-earned reputation for just walking away from mines when they’re done.” Gooch Goodwin, native Patagonian and PARA board member.
The Forest Service document also acknowledges that the “Patagonia Mountains have high levels of biodiversity and are home to a variety of species protected under the Endangered Species Act including jaguar, ocelot, lesser long-nosed bat, Mexican spotted owl, western yellow-billed cuckoo, Sonora tiger salamander, and the northern Mexican gartersnake.”
It additionally states, “the area is best-known and most popular places for birding in the U.S. Bird enthusiast who come from all over the world to catch a glimpse of more than 300 species of birds, including many Neotropical species that migrate, nest, and live in this unique habitat.”
Clean up of the five acre site is expected to start Spring 2015 and be completed before the coming monsoon season to avoid erosion and flushing of heavy metals further downstream.
USFS map of Lead Queen mine location
Read USFS Lead Queen Mine Removal Action Memorandum
For further information regarding the USFS Removal Action Memorandum, please contact Eli Curiel, P.E., On-Scene Coordinator, at 520-388-8413; or Maria McGaha, P.E., Regional Environmental Engineer, at 505-842-3837.
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The Patagonia Area Resource Alliance is a citizen watchdog organization that monitors the activities of mining companies, as well as ensures government agencies’ due diligence, to make sure their actions have long-term, sustainable benefits to our public lands, our water, and the town of Patagonia. For more information visit www.patagoniaalliance.org and follow us on Twitter @PARAalliance.
