Public meeting to discuss project progress and clean-up at Anaconda Copper Mine Site

CARSON CITY, NV – The Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ (NDCNR) Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP) invites the public to a meeting on Thursday, November 29 at the Yerington High School Main Gym, located at 114 Pearl Street. The meeting, scheduled from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., will be conducted in an informal Q&A format, so the public can drop in anytime to learn more about project progress and clean-up plans at the Anaconda Mine Site.

A great deal of preparation for cleanup activities has been accomplished since NDEP took on the lead regulatory role at the site in February 2018, when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) deferred the Anaconda Mine Site within EPA’s Superfund Program to the State of Nevada.  Under NDEP’s management and direction, the Anaconda mine site will be remediated through a landmark funding agreement with the Atlantic Richfield Company, who has taken responsibility for investigation and cleanup of the Site. 

Clean-up of the Anaconda mine is based on a 12-year closure schedule that includes a robust community involvement and stakeholder participation plan.  In developing this plan, NDEP and stakeholders have reviewed and commented on a number of comprehensive documents prepared by the Atlantic Richfield Company associated with heap leach pad closure, new fluid management ponds, stormwater controls; groundwater plume stability; pit lake sampling; process area risk assessment; evaporation pond investigation; and continued monitoring and investigation of the Wabuska Drain.

Detailed information about project areas and maps of the site are available at: https://ndep.nv.gov/land/abandoned-mine-lands/anaconda-home/anaconda-whats-new.

Additional background information about the Anaconda Copper Mine, can be found at: http://dcnr.nv.gov/blogs/understanding-anaconda.