Federal and State officials have secured $10 million in a settlement agreement for cleanup of the Gilt Edge Superfund site.
In the late 1990’s, the company operating the open pit gold mine in the Northern Black Hills went bankrupt and abandoned the site. Part of the effort to pay for on-going reclamation includes settlement agreements with the private companies involved in the former operation.
The exposed sulfur bearing rocks in the 360-acre open pit produce sulfuric acid when they come into contact with rain and snow melt.
The open pit mine sits at the headwaters of Bear Butte Creek. The water treatment costs at the site run about $2 million per year. Joy Jenkins is with the EPA.
“The importance of this site is the aquatic habitat surrounding the area in the Black Hills, and we’ve been treating water at this site for the last 15 years to protect that habitat and any downstream users of the water,” says Jenkins.
To date settlement agreements have brought in about $40 million from private entities. The total clean-up costs at Gilt Edge could top $200 million.
Officials say it’s likely the site will need some sort of water treatment indefinitely.