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Project Description
The USDA Forest Service is the lead agency in charge of administering
the New World Mining District Response and Restoration project
through its assigned authority prescribed by the Superfund law
(Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability
Act, or CERCLA). The USDA-FS will execute the project by
following guidance provided by the EPA for Non-Time-Critical Removal
Actions. Non-Time-Critical Removal Actions are defined by CERCLA
and the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency
Plan (NCP) as actions that are implemented by the lead agency
to respond to "the cleanup or removal of released hazardous
substances from the environment … as may be necessary to
prevent, minimize, or mitigate damage to the public health or
welfare or to the environment…" (EPA, 1993). It is the
expectation of the parties involved in the Consent Decree and
Settlement Agreement that the work performed under CERCLA will
also satisfy the applicable substantive requirements of the Montana
Comprehensive Environmental Cleanup and Responsibility Act (CECRA).
The primary goals of the New World response and restoration project
are:
1. to assure the achievement of the highest and best water
quality practicably attainable on the District Property, considering
the natural geology, hydrology and background conditions in
the District (Agreement, Appendix C, ¶ 1), and,
2. to mitigate environmental impacts that are a result of historic
mining, "… taking into consideration the desirability
of preserving the existing undeveloped character of the District
and the surrounding area." (Decree, Part II, ¶ F).
The initial stages of the project began with the submittal of
a support document and implementation plan to underpin a petition
for temporary modification of water quality standards for Fisher
and Daisy Creeks and a headwater segment of the Stillwater River.
This document was submitted to the State of Montana Board of Environmental
Review on January 22, 1999. The support document provides the
necessary information required by the Montana Water Quality Act
(' ' 75-5-201, et seq.), which allows adoption of temporary water
quality standards for particular parameters on streams or stream
segments that are not supporting the State’s designated use.
The Board of Environmental Review granted temporary standards
for the petitioned stream segments in June 1999.
Following further interagency consultation and input, the USDA-FS
has assembled an organization and guiding objectives to proceed
with response and restoration activities associated with historic
mining impacts in the New World Mining District.
The USDA-FS, as outlined in the Agreement (Appendix C, &
6), envisions that response and restoration work will initially
focus on stabilizing the solid mine wastes to prevent or reduce
erosion onto adjacent lands or into streams. Other expected response
or restoration actions may include:
It is the overall philosophy of the USDA-FS to achieve the goals
stated above to the extent practicable and possible given the
constraints of funding and the general desire to blend the response
and restoration actions into the surrounding area. The USDA-FS
anticipates most of the source areas at the site can be isolated
from the environment and much of the erosion and sedimentation
issues at the site can be mitigated. However, acid mine discharge
issues at the site are technically challenging and total elimination
of all threats associated with such discharges may be beyond the
scope of this project. Such mitigation is further compounded by
the presence of naturally occurring metals-impacted water and
solids at the site. The USDA-FS will make every effort, however,
to develop the best solutions to the various environmental problems
at the New World Site and will work diligently in keeping the
public informed and involved in the removal and restoration process.
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