A proposal describing cleanup activities for the Azurite Mine site northwest of Mazama is available for review, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
     The site is about 19 miles northwest of Mazama on lands managed by the Okanogan and Wenatchee National Forests. The mine was active from 1918-1939 and produced mostly gold.
     Under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 the proposed cleanup project includes a variety of tasks designed to minimize human health and ecological risks from contamination associated with hazardous substances found at the site, the announcement continued.
     Details are in the 2008 Engineering Evaluation and Cost Analysis, which determined that tailings, waste rock and contaminated soil are the primary sources of unacceptable risks, say forest officials.
     Soil samples showed elevated concentrations of arsenic, cadmium, copper, lead, mercury and zinc at the site. Seepage water from the tailings and waste rock also contained elevated metal concentrations.
     The document examines options for dealing with the site and identifies a preferred alternative for isolating or removing contaminated materials.
     "This cleanup project will allow us to address significant risks to aquatic resources," said John Newcom, Methow Valley district ranger.
     "When implemented, it will reduce the threat of hazardous substances being released from the waste rock pile into Mill Creek," he said. "The hazardous substances pose a potential health threat to individuals recreating in the area and to fish and wildlife including bull trout."
     Asarco, formerly American Smelting and Refining Co., leased the property in 1934 and constructed a mill with cyanide leach vats and an aerial tramway. Asarco terminated the lease in 1940.
     The abandoned site contains five underground mine openings, two main waste rock piles, a tailings pile and the remains of the former mill building foundation. An abandoned office building is located down slope of the mill foundation.
     Recommended cleanup includes upgrading existing access routes, constructing a retaining wall, re-vegetating disturbed areas, consolidating and covering waste rock and tailings piles, and installing safety grates, the announcement continued.
     The mine is located in an area closed to motorized vehicles. Administrative motorized access for cleanup purposes would be allowed on a limited basis via permits issued by the Forest Service.
     The Azurite cleanup is part of an ongoing program in the Forest Service to address impacts associated with abandoned and inactive mine sites on national forest system lands.
     Inventory work identified about 2,200 abandoned and inactive sites within Forest Service boundaries in Washington, according to the announcement.
     Some 250 may involve hazardous wastes. Initial cleanup efforts have focused on the worst sites and those in key fisheries watersheds, say forest officials.
     The Forest Service seeks out the past operators of the mines to pay for the investigation and cleanup work. In cases where none are available, special U.S. Department of Agriculture funding is requested, according to the announcement.
     Cleanup projects are funded competitively based on a number of factors, including potential to affect human and ecological health.
     The engineering evaluation and cost analysis is available for review at the Winthrop Public Library, and Methow Valley and Mount Baker ranger district offices in Winthrop and Sedro Woolley, respectively, and the Okanogan Valley Office of the Okanogan and Wenatchee National Forests in Okanogan.
     The documents also are at www.fs.fed.us/r6/oka/projects/geology.shtml.
     Comments may be made until Jan. 5 to Becki Heath, forest supervisor, Okanogan and Wenatchee National Forests, 215 Melody Lane, Wenatchee 98801, or comments-pacificnorthwest-okanogan-wenatchee@fs.fed.us.
     More information is available from Rod Lentz, 826-3274.