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EPA outlines $94 million plan to clean Sulphur Bank Mercury Mine; residents press on trucks, trees and local hiring
Summary
At an ERTH meeting May 6, EPA Project Manager Carter Jessop described a roughly $94 million cleanup of the Sulphur Bank Mercury Mine that will include major earthmoving, removal of about 3,500 trees and heavy truck traffic. Residents raised questions about dredging, traffic management and local hiring.
Project Manager Carter Jessop of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency outlined cleanup plans for the Sulphur Bank Mercury Mine and answered community questions at the East Region Town Hall District 3 meeting on May 6.
Jessop said the current phase of work is projected to cost about $94 million and will include preparation, excavation, consolidation and capping, and long-term monitoring. The capping component alone will require roughly 590,000 cubic yards of earthwork, and the project anticipates removing about 3,500 trees “which will be reused where possible,” Jessop said. He told the meeting the residential portion of the cleanup is scheduled to begin this fall.
The EPA estimated truck traffic at about 35 trucks per day for approximately 15 months and said staffing for the program will include roughly 35 full-time employees plus many subcontractors over a five-year period. Jessop noted the agency is seeking clean fill and described potential local job and training opportunities tied to construction, environmental services and related support roles.
Residents asked several operational and environmental questions. Board Member Sterling Wellman asked about dredging plans. A resident identified as Yolanda expressed concern about the volume of trucks and urged a traffic-management plan. Roberta McIntyre raised concerns about the tree removals. Lisa Marie Benavides suggested training local people for hire through the American Job Center. Julia Carrera pressed for clarity on local-hiring requirements, the wetland biologist for the wetlands portion of the work and whether tree chipping would be done on site. Margaux Kambara asked about project funding.
Jessop said the Hypolimnetic Oxygenation project results will be used to plan the future lake portion of cleanup work. ERTH posted the full presentation and supporting handouts and video on its website.
Next steps: EPA will begin the residential cleanup phase this fall; details and project documents are available on the ERTH website for residents to review.
