STUDY NUMBER ; 3.1 



ORGANIZATION ; Montana Department of State Lands (MDSL) - 

 Abandoned Mine Reclamation (AMD Bureau 



TITLE OF STUDY ; Colorado Tailings Reclamation Design Studies 



CONTACTS ; Dick Juntunen - MDSL - 444-2074 

 Ben Mundie - MDSL - 444-2074 



OBJECTIVE ; Design reclamation alternatives and implement a 

 preferred design that will mitigate heavy metal impacts to 

 surface and ground water caused by the Colorado Tailings. 



DURATION ; 1984 - 1987 



CURRENT STATUS ; Based upon data collected by the Montana 

 Bureau of Mines and Geology (Study 1.1) and the Hydrometrics, 

 a consulting firm hired by the Anaconda Minerals Company, the 

 need for reclamation of the Colorado Tailings was presented 

 to the Office of Surface Mining (OSM). In August, 1984, OSM 

 made available $1,000,000 to MDSL to proceed with reclama- 

 tion. Delta Engineering, a consulting firm from Great Falls, 

 was hired to evaluate the reclamation potential of the site 

 and to prepare site-specific designs. These studies were 

 completed in the spring of 1985. 



The Colorado Tailings are within the Butte/Silver Bow 

 Superfund site. Upon completion of the reclamation designs, 

 concerns were raised by the EPA, the Solid and Hazardous 

 Waste Bureau of MDHES and others about potential liabilities 

 that the state might incur if MDSL were to proceed with 

 reclamation before completion of the Superfund investiga- 



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