Conference attendees tour proposed Superfund mine sites

Animas River Stakeholder Group’s Steve Fearn and Kirstin Brown, a reclamation specialist with the Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety, discuss remediation efforts at the Koehler Tunnel, which used to discharge more metals into the Animas River than all of Cement Creek before a bulkhead was installed.

Jonathan Romeo/Durango Herald

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Animas River Stakeholder Group’s Steve Fearn and Kirstin Brown, a reclamation specialist with the Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety, discuss remediation efforts at the Koehler Tunnel, which used to discharge more metals into the Animas River than all of Cement Creek before a bulkhead was installed.

Jonathan Romeo/Durango Herald

Animas River Stakeholder Group’s Steve Fearn and Kirstin Brown, a reclamation specialist with the Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety, explain why the EPA listed the Brooklyn Mine on the proposed Bonita Peak Mining District Superfund list, which included 48 mining-related sites in the Silverton area. The mine, which still draws interest from potential mining companies, has large tailings piles around the adit.

Jonathan Romero/Durango Herald

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Animas River Stakeholder Group’s Steve Fearn and Kirstin Brown, a reclamation specialist with the Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety, explain why the EPA listed the Brooklyn Mine on the proposed Bonita Peak Mining District Superfund list, which included 48 mining-related sites in the Silverton area. The mine, which still draws interest from potential mining companies, has large tailings piles around the adit.

Jonathan Romero/Durango Herald

A member of the 2016 San Juan Mining Conference checks out a wetland fen in Cement Creek. The conference brings together stakeholders from around the region for updates on mining activities. Although this year’s event falls on the one year anniversary of the Gold King Mine blowout, the conference location is planned six years in advance.

Jonathan Romeo/Durango Herald

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A member of the 2016 San Juan Mining Conference checks out a wetland fen in Cement Creek. The conference brings together stakeholders from around the region for updates on mining activities. Although this year’s event falls on the one year anniversary of the Gold King Mine blowout, the conference location is planned six years in advance.

Jonathan Romeo/Durango Herald

On the final day of the sixth annual San Juan Mining Conference, which fell on the one year anniversary of the Gold King Mine blowout, stakeholders from across the region toured sites included on the proposed Superfund listing in the Bonita Peak Mining District.

The conference, which brings together stakeholders from the Animas, Rio Grande, San Miguel and Uncompaghre watersheds, is held each year to provide a regional update on mining activities and reclamation projects.

On Friday, more than 80 people toured several sites around Silverton and San Juan County that would be included in the Environmental Protection Agency’s hazardous cleanup program.

The tour included some lesser-known sites: the Brooklyn Mine, the Koehler Tunnel, the Yukon Mine and the Mammoth Mine – as well as the major metal loaders in the district: the Red & Bonita and Gold King mines, and the American Tunnel.

Talks were given by Animas River Stakeholders Group coordinators Peter Butler and Steve Fearn; Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety reclamation specialist Kirstin Brown; Sunnyside Gold Corp. spokesman Larry Perino, and San Juan County Historical Society Chairwoman Beverly Rich.