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Bingham Creek Drainage Viewed from Bingham Flats. |
EPA and DEQ are conducting a Five-Year Review of the remedial actions performed at the Kennecott South Zone. The Five-Year Review is required since contaminants remain in portions of the site above levels that allow for unrestricted use and unlimited exposure.
The Kennecott South Zone is located about 10 miles southwest of Salt Lake City and includes several features associated with historic mining as well as areas contaminated by mining wastes which migrated from source areas to cities and towns. These include Bingham Creek (Operable Unit No. 1 (OU1), Copperton Tailing (OU5), Copperton Soil (OU10), Bingham Canyon (OU11) and the Precipitation Plant (OU24).
Mining at the site began in 1893 and has continued ever since. Waste management practices of early miners included the dumping of wastes directly into mountain creeks or storing them adjacent to streams. The streams carried the waste down into areas of the Salt Lake Valley that have since been developed.
Site remedies involved the excavation and disposal of mine wastes and contaminated soils or consolidation and capping of mine wastes. The Site was cleaned up in 1999. In some cases, land use controls were required to minimize disturbance of capping remedies and to minimize human exposure to wastes that remain at the Site.
This will be the second Five-Year Review for the Kennecott South Zone Site. The Five-Year Review is scheduled to be complete by December 2009. If you would like to provide input or get more information about this Five-Year Review, please contact:
Doug Bacon
UDEQ Project Manager
Phone: 801-536-4282
Dave Allison
UDEQ Community Involvement
Phone: 801-536-4479
Revised: November 3, 2009