4 MILES SE OF LEAD
The Gilt Edge Mine Superfund site is located about 6.5 miles east of Lead, at the headwaters of cold-water fisheries and municipal water supplies of the northern Black Hills in South Dakota. The 360-acre primary mine disturbance area encompasses a former open pit and a cyanide heap-leach gold mine, as well as prior mine exploration activities from various companies. In the late 1990s the most recent mine operator, Brohm Mining Company (BMC), became insolvent. In doing so, they left 150 million gallons of acidic heavy-metal-laden water in three open pits, as well as millions of cubic yards of acid-generating waste rock that requires cleanup and long-term treatment. Mining operations for gold, copper and tungsten were conducted in this small mining district starting in 1876. And a legacy of contamination was left by many of these mining entities. When BMC faced financial problems and informed the state that it would not continue site controls, the governor of South Dakota requested that EPA Region 8 propose the site for the Superfund National Priorities List (NPL). EPA proposed the site on May 11, 2000 and announced the site's final NPL designation in the Federal Register on December 1, 2000. The NPL is a list of sites with environmental contamination, commonly referred to as Superfund sites.
3 |
People living within a 1 mile radius |
$48,403 |
Average Income |
2 |
Occupied homes |
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