Flambeau Mine Update, Wisconsin
Kennecott Mineral’s Flambeau Mining Company (FMC) recently applied for a Certificate of Completion (COC) for its reclamation activities at the Flambeau Mine site, in Rusk County, Wisconsin. The COC does not cover ground and surface water contamination and excludes from scrutiny the 32 acres that comprises the actual mine site.[1]
If the Wisconsin DNR grants Kennecott a COC, the company can reclaim 80% of its $11 million reclamation bond, based on the company’s claim that the site has been successfully reclaimed. The remaining 20% would be held for another 20 years, while a separate $1 million bond remains in place for years.[2] Kennecott notes that the bond was “never intended to address groundwater or surface water contamination that may exist now or in the future.”[3]
Kennecott Eagle Co. has cited its Flambeau Mine as an example of a “successful” metallic sulfide mine. Securing a COC could prompt the company to attempt to bypass Wisconsin’s moratorium laws, although scrutiny of the project would not secure such a result.
In November 2001, FMC submitted a Notice of Completion (NOC) to the DNR, which the agency approved.
Although the mine has been closed for only 10 years, Wisconsin DNR and company monitoring of the Flambeau River shows levels of mine contaminants, including heavy metals, in sediment and crayfish to be 10 to 100 times higher than Kennecott’s independent data anticipated during the permit process for that mine. Following the disclosure of these results, Kennecott ended the process of collecting and testing fish, sediment, and crayfish samples. [4]
The area’s topsoil was contaminated to such an extent that the DNR required its removal from the site. In November 2003, FMC removed 4,120 cubic yards of contaminated railroad ballast from the mine site.[5]
In 2006, FMC removed roughly 1,200 cubic yards of contaminated soils from 10,500 square yard area.
The DNR is required to follow a four-year monitoring period following the issuance of an NOC. Because FMC was removing contaminated soil from the site as recently as last year, the company has violated its NOC. Because significant reclamation activities occurred since the issuance of the NOC, the DNR is legally required to begin the COC process anew. [6]
Contrary to the company’s annual reports, Kennecott now claims that “the [Flambeau] River has been fully protected at every stage of the Flambeau Mine Project. Long-term monitoring both upstream and downstream proves the River is clean and healthy…. Testing shows conclusively ground water quality surrounding the site is as good as it was before mining.”[7]
However, a recent study has shown that that groundwater pollution at the mine site exceeded safe drinking water standards, contrary to that predicted by the FMC in its 1990 Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).[8]
“The concentrations of copper, iron, manganese and sulfate in the backfilled pit were predicted using geochemical modeling in the [1990] EIS. The modeling apparently used concentrations from short-term leach tests, but the details of modeling were not provided in the EIS. Predictions were also made in 1996 and 1997 as part of the mine’s backfill plan. Concentrations predicted in 1997 for copper, manganese, and iron were substantially higher than those predicted in the EIS. For example, copper concentrations predicted in 1997 were 0.18 to 0.56 mg/l, and concentrations in the EIS were 0.014 mg/l. Compared to EIS-predicted post-mining concentrations in the pit backfill, post-mining concentrations in the backfill were higher by up to 45 times for copper, 70 times for manganese, 30 times for iron, and 1.25 times for sulfate. Therefore, modeling underestimated actual concentrations of metals and other contaminants in the pit backfill
leachate.”[9]
The EIS was commissioned from Foth & VanDyke, the same consulting firm that created an EIS for the Kennecott’s Eagle Project.
The Flambeau Mine also affected the local economy. Following the mine’s closure, Rusk County’s unemployment rate was higher than it had been before the mine was opened. Twice during the 4-year life of the mine (1993 to 1997), the county had the highest unemployment rate in the state.[10]
Jana Murphy, FMC’s environmental manager, said, “We are proud of our $20 million reclamation effort, which has transformed this former mine site into a community and recreational asset. We made that promise early on and it has been kept.”[11]
In its reclamation, Kennecott consistently emphasized above-ground reclamation, while ignoring ground and surface water issues. The company’s “Flambeau Reclaimed” website emphasizes the establishment of a 150 acre public recreation and nature area yet includes no mention of what has happened with endangered species that were located at the mine site, prior to activity.
Kennecott is banking on the DNR to grant the company a COC by looking at a petition that ignores DNR and company data regarding ground and surface water contamination, in what activist Sandy Lyons calls a “half COC’d plan.”[12]
The DNR has scheduled hearings at the Rusk County Courthouse, in Ladysmith, for May 16, 2-5pm & 6:30, & the 17th, starting at 8:30 am. Wisconsin citizens urge all to attend and comment, as a decision will affect the future of the Lake Superior region.
1 Jana Murphy, Flambeau Mining Co. Notice of Completion of reclamation activities to the Wisconsin DNR, September 4, 2001
6 Furtado, Laura, “Keeping Roscoe’s Struggle Alive,” Mines and Communities, March 13, 2007
7 Flambeau Mining Co., “Promises Kept,” FMC Website, February 23, 2007
9 Ibid, p.166
10 WLUC-TV6, “Guest Editorial: Kennecott, first air date 6-18-04,” June 18, 2004
11 Supra, 4
12 Supra, 1
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