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The
Cleanup Process
The Vermont Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) asked the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) for assistance in addressing the environmental
problems that result from the waste material at the Elizabeth Mine.
The EPA proposed cleaning up the site using a "Time-Critical Removal
Process". The community did not like this proposal and asked for
the opportunity to be involved in the cleanup design. The EPA suggested
that the community form a Community Advisory
Group that would represent the interests and concerns of a number
of community groups.
 In
March, 2000, the EPA assisted the community in forming a Community Advisory
Group to represent the interests and concerns of a number of local groups.
In June, the EMCAG hired facilitator Cindy Cook of Adamant
Accord to facilitate discussions regarding the future of the Elizabeth
Mine. Early discussions focused on whether or not the site should be cleaned
up. The group unanimously decided that it should be. Then, the EMCAG looked
at possible sources to fund the cleanup, and concluded that the EPA was
the only source that had enough money to clean up the site. Discussions
with the EPA led to the development of a Community
Involvement Plan (CIP), that outlined the community's concerns and
assured the community that it would continue to be involved throughout
the cleanup process. In September, 2000, the EMCAG voted unanimously to
support the process of listing the Elizabeth mine on the National Priorities
List, commonly known as the "Superfund List".
The "Removal" Process
Superfund listing made the mine site eligible for funding cleanup funding.
The mine cleanup will be accomplished under two separate EPA processes.
The "Non-Time Critical Removal Process" (usually referred to as the "NTCRA"
or the "Removal Process" focuses on designing and implementing cleanup
alternatives to address contamination from the large piles of tailings
(powdered waste rock that is left after mining) at the site.
Ordinarily, the first opportunity for
public involvement
in the Removal Process is the 30-day
public comment period on a report
known
as the Engineering
Evaluation and Cost Analysis or "EE/CA" that summarizes initial studies
of the site and proposed cleanup actions and is later released for
public comment. Because the community
was so actively interested in the cleanup, a more interactive process
was developed in which the EMCAG was given the opportunity to comment
on a number of interim reports to ensure that the alternatives described
in the EE/CA reflected the community's concerns.
After meeting with the EMCAG a
number of times to discuss the interim reports, EPA produced a draft
EE/CA for the advisory group to review and comment on. Once the
community group has commented, the EPA will respond to the comments
and release a revised EE/CA for public comment.
The EPA will respond to the comments
it receives on the EE/CA, and then issue an Action Memo that describes
the selected cleanup alternative. The project will then enter the
Design Phase, in which the EPA and its engineering contractors will
continue to work with the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources and
the community to develop more detailed plans for cleaning up the
tailings piles.
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