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Office of the Secretary
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 19, 2007
Contact:
Joan Moody 202-208-6416

Department of the Interior Honors California BLM Abandoned Mine Lands Team

Photos Available Upon Request

WASHINGTON – Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne and Deputy Secretary Lynn Scarlett today honored eight recipients of the 2006 Department of the Interior Environmental Achievement Awards in a ceremony at the Interior Building in Washington, DC. The Secretary said the recipients are “role models for all Americans who want to celebrate Earth Day this week.”

The California BLM Abandoned Mine Lands Team was honored for the Boston Placer Mine Sluice Tunnel Remediation Project at Red Dog, CA. Accepting the award for the team was David Lawler (California Abandoned Mine Lands Coordinator and Boston Project Manager), Tim Carroll (California Folsom FO Abandoned Mine Lands Coordinator and Boston Project Inspector) and John Key (California Program Lead for Hazardous Materials/Abandoned Mine Lands/Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration).

The awards convey high-level recognition to DOI employees and partners for DOI projects in the following areas: Waste/Pollution Prevention, Recycling, Green Purchasing, Environmental Management Systems, Sustainable Design/Green Building, and Alternative Fuel and Fuel Conservation in Transportation. A panel of experts from each Interior bureau recommended the awardees to their agency heads. More information on the awards can be found at http://www.doi.gov/greening/awards/env2006N.html.

The Boston Hydraulic Gold Mine Sluice Tunnel contained high concentrations of elemental and methyl mercury in the tunnel sediments. The drain "sluice" tunnel discharged water and sediment onto adjoining U.S. Forest Service administered lands bordering Greenhorn Creek. Water and sediment sample results indicated high mercury contamination levels both in the 400-foot-long sluice tunnel and in the wetlands/ reservoir area, which were created by a blockage at the inlet of the tunnel.

This remediation project was the first successful pilot mercury removal/ recovery/ recycling project undertaken in California. The Abandoned Mine Lands Team used innovative project remediation concepts during the Engineering Evaluation/ Cost Analysis phase of the project and worked with team members to successfully implement and execute technological innovations and novel remediation solutions. By recovering and recycling the mercury, BLM preserved approximately one billion gallons of potential drinking water.

BLM acknowledged widespread support from interagency Federal partners (U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency), State Partners (California Department of Conservation Abandoned Mine Land Unit, California State Water Control Board, Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board, and California Department of Fish and Game), Local Partners (Nevada County Department of Environmental Health, and Nevada County Resource Conservation District), and numerous private landowner watershed stakeholders.

The eight awardees are:

  • Dr. John Portnoy, Ecologist - Herring River Salt Marsh Restoration, Cape Cod National Seashore, NPS.
  • Students Against Global Abuse at Herndon High School (SAGA) Partnership with MMS.
  • The California BLM Abandoned Mine Lands Team - Boston Placer Mine Sluice Tunnel Remediation Project, Red Dog, California.
  • JW Dalton Legacy Well Cleanup Project Team, National Petroleum Reserve, Alaska, BLM.
  • Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge "Green" Headquarters and Visitor Contact Station Team, Swanton, Vermont, FWS.
  • Northeast Regional Office “Green” Team Hadley, Massachusetts, FWS.
  • Doyon/ARAMARK Joint Venture, Planet EVERgreen: Protecting and Preserving "The Last Frontier," Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska, NPS.
  • Yellowstone National Park Employees, Xanterra Yellowstone Employees, Montana and Wyoming Departments of Environmental Quality, and Environmental Protection Agency, Region 8, Environmental Stewardship at Yellowstone National Park and the greater Yellowstone area, Wyoming.
 
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