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EPA issues proposed plan for Gilt Edge Mine Superfund site

Release Date: 05/27/2008
Contact Information: Jennifer Chergo, EPA, chergo.jennifer@epa.gov, 303-312-6601

(Denver, Colo. -- May 27, 2008) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 8, has issued its proposed plan to clean up environmental contamination at the Gilt Edge Mine Superfund Site, Operable Unit 1 (OU1). This proposed cleanup plan lays out a long-term cleanup strategy for OU1, which addresses overall
contamination at the site. The Gilt Edge Mine is located in the northern Black Hills, near the towns of Lead and Deadwood, South Dakota.

The environmental problems at the Gilt Edge Mine stem from more than a decade of large-scale, open-pit gold mining by Brohm Mining Company. In 1999, Brohm declared bankruptcy, leaving 150 million gallons of acidic, heavy-metal-laden water in three open pits and millions of cubic yards of acid-generating waste rock requiring cleanup and long-term treatment. Since that time, EPA, in consultation with the South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources, has enacted a number of short-term and emergency response actions at the site.

The proposed plan is an important step in the Superfund process that provides an opportunity for the public to comment on the cleanup before EPA makes a final cleanup decision. The plan reviews the history of the site and describes the environmental problems and risks currently posed by the site and summarizes the four alternatives being considered to remediate the site, including EPA's preferred alternative. EPA will accept public comment on the proposed plan from May 23 through June 23, 2008.

A copy of the proposed plan can be obtained by going to the EPA Web site at:
https://www.epa.gov/region8/superfund/sd/giltedge
or by visiting the Gilt Edge Mine Superfund Site Information Repository at the Hearst Public Library, 315 Main Street, Lead, S.D., 57754, (605) 584-2013.

Comments on the Proposed Plan may be submitted via mail or e-mail to: Jennifer Chergo, U.S. EPA Region 8, 1595 Wynkoop Street, Denver, Colo., 80202; (303) 312-6601 or toll-free (800) 227-8917; e-mail chergo.jennifer@epa.gov.

EPA will host a public meeting to accept comments on Tuesday, June 10, 2008, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., at the Hampton Inn, 531 Main Street, Deadwood, S.D., 57732, (605) 578-1893.

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