Troubled-Waters final

TROUBLED WATERS
32
dumped approximately 2 million tonnes of tailings from 1966
to 1984 and waste rock runoff also added contamination to
the lake. Zinc levels in the water of Buttle Lake on Vancouver
Island were high and only began to decrease after tailings
were diverted to a terrestrial storage facility, although this is
also linked to steps taken to control acid mine drainage from
land-based rock disposal.
International Lake Environment Committee. “Buttle Lake”
World Lakes Database. http://www.ilec.or.jp/database/nam/
nam-55.html
High zinc and, copper, and lead levels occurred in the
water at Anderson Lake in Manitoba. Upper sediment
concentrations during dumping were high in zinc
(100,000ppm), lead (1,000ppm), and copper (10,000ppm).
Pedersen, T.F., Mueller, B., McNee, J.J., & Pelletier, C.A.
1993. The early diagenesis of submerged sulphide-rich mine
tailings in Anderson Lake, Manitoba. Canadian Journal of
Earth Sciences 30:1099-1109.
Kirkland Lake and downstream areas in Ontario remained
contaminated decades after dumping ceased.
Jackson, R.G., & G.E.M. Hall. 1995. “The long-term
geochemical stability of non-acid generating tailings.”
Conference on mining and the environment, Sudbury,
Ontario, 28 May-01 June, 1995. http://pdf.library.
laurentian.ca/medb/conf/Sudbury95/TWRS/TWR&S9.PDF
Companies dumped tailings into Balmer Lake in Ontario until
1979 and continued to pour mine waste water into the lake
thereafter; arsenic concentrations in the water exceeded 200
ppm and arsenic, nickel, and zinc all reached concentrations
over 4000 ppm in sediments.
Martin, A.J., & Pedersen, T.F. 2002. Seasonal and
interannual mobility of arsenic in a lake impacted by metal
mining. Environmental Science and Technology 36:1516-
1523.
Martin, A.J., & Pedersen, T.F. 2004. Alteration to lake
trophic status as a means to control arsenic mobility in a
mine-impacted lake. Water Research 38:4415-4423.
Copper concentrations in tailings sediments at Torch Lake
in Michigan exceeded 1,600 ppm and are higher in the
shallower sediments.
Cusack, C.C., & Mihelcic, J.R. 1999. Sediment toxicity from
copper in the Torch Lake (MI) Great Lakes Area of Concern.
Journal of Great Lakes Research 25:735-743.
Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. 2007.
Biennual remedial action plan update for the Torch Lake
Area of Concern. http://www.glc.org/spac/pdf/rapupdates/
Torch%20Lake%20RAP%20Final%2010.29.07.pdf
McDonald, C.P., Urban, N.R., Barkach, J.H., & McCauley,
D. 2010. Copper profiles in the sediments of a mineimpacted
lake. Journal of Soil and Sediments 10:343-348.
Fish returned to Mallard Lake, Saskatchewan, after mine
operations and tailings dumping into the lake ended. The
sediments of the lake, however, exceed guidelines for
freshwater lakes in cyanide, copper, arsenic and mercury
concentrations.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada. 2010. Canadian
Environmental Assessment Act Screening Report:
Establishment of a Tailings Impoundment Area at Mallard
Lake Saskatchewan. http://www.acee-ceaa.gc.ca/050/
document-eng.cfm?document=41460
22 For example, at Torch Lake in Michigan, the “technology and
scale needed to safely remove or stabilize [the contaminated]
sediments without causing environmental harm does not
currently exist. It was deemed too difficult and expensive to
attempt to remove or remediate them.” Michigan Department
of Environmental Quality. 2007. Biennual remedial action
plan update for the Torch Lake Area of Concern. http://
www.glc.org/spac/pdf/rapupdates/Torch%20Lake%20
RAP%20Final%2010.29.07.pdf
23 National Research Council. 2005. Superfund and Mining
Megasites; Lessons from the Coeur D’Alene River Basin. The
National Academies Press, Washington D.C.
24 US Fish and Wildlife Service. “Settlement Brings Millions of
Dollars for Coeur d’Alene Basin Clean-up and Restoration”
News Release 10 December 2009. http://www.fws.gov/
news/newsreleases/showNews.cfm?newsId=7A7856A0-
F8AF-0ED2-078CDA6EC500C53A
25 The National Academies. 2005. Report in Brief. Superfund
and Mining Megasites; Lessons from the Coeur D’Alene River
Basin. The National Academies Press, Washington D.C.
Mining, Minerals, and Sustainable Development. 2002.
Mining for the Future Appendix I: Porgera Riverine Disposal
Case Study. International Institute for Environment and
Development and World Buisness Council for Sustainable
Development.
26 Giudici, C., et al. 1996. Mount Lyell Remediation;
Remediation options for tailings deposits in the King River
and Macquarie Harbor. Commonwealth of Australia. 66pp.
27 Bevilacqua, S. “Mining Rivers of Shame” Sunday Tasmanian
5 May 2002.
Koehnken, L., Clarke, N., Dineen, R., & Jones, W. 2003.
Present status of remediation of Mt. Lyell acid drainage.
Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Acid
Rock Drainage (ICARD).
Tasmania Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water
and Environment. “Options to Address Mt Lyell Acid Mine
Drainage Pollution” http://www.environment.tas.gov.au/
index.aspx?base=216
Gavin Mudd, personal communication June 2011.
28 Banks, G., Paull, D., & Mockler, S. 2005. The social and
environmental impact of mining in Asia-Pacific: the potential
contribution of a remote-sensing approach. Resource
Management in Asia-Pacific Working Paper No. 60. The
Australian National University, Canberra.
29 The United States sent 120 tonnes of municipal waste to
landfills in 2009. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
2009. Municipal solid waste in the United States. http://
www.epa.gov/osw/nonhaz/municipal/pubs/msw2009rpt.pdf
30 U.S. EPA. 2005. Coeur Alaska Kensington Mine Record
of Decision. http://yosemite.epa.gov/r10/water.nsf/
NPDES+Permits/CurrentAK822/
Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation.
Inspection Report, Kensington Lower Slate Lake. 22 October
2009.