OSWER/OSRTI 

Washington, DC 20460 

NATIONAL PRIORITIES LIST (NPL)

***Final Site*** March 2010 

BLACK BUTTE MINE Cottage Grove, Oregon 

Lane County 

 Site Location: 

Black Butte Mine is located in Lane County in rural western Oregon, approximately 10 miles south of Cottage Grove. 

The site is situated on the south slope of Black Butte, which is part of the Calapooya Divide. 

 Site History: 

Black Butte Mine is a former mercury mine which operated intermittently from the 1890s to the mid 1960s. Peak 

production occurred from 1927 to 1943. Prior to 1975, the site was owned by a number of mining interests, and used 

primarily for mineral extraction. From 1975 to 1994, the property had a number of private owners who used the 

property primarily for logging. Since 1994, the property has been owned by the Land and Timber Company, LLC, 

which also uses the property for logging. 

 Site Contamination/Contaminants: 

The site contains a 300,000 cubic yard tailings pile, large areas of contaminated soil near the former mill area, and 

large volumes of tailings throughout the adjacent Furnace Creek drainage. The principal contaminants in the sources, 

surface water and sediments are mercury and arsenic. Concentrations of these metals in upland sources exceed EPA 

cleanup guidelines for soil. Mercury and arsenic concentrations in stream sediments adjacent to, and down gradient 

of, the site also exceed EPA Risk Assessment Guidelines. 

 Potential Impacts on Surrounding Community/Environment: 

The site drains to adjacent streams Furnace Creek and Dennis Creek, which converge with Garoutte Creek (1/4 mile 

from the site) which flows to the Coast Fork of the Willamette River (1.5 miles from the site) and to Cottage Grove 

Reservoir (9 miles from the site). Fishing occurs in Garoutte Creek at the confluence with Furnace and Dennis 

Creeks. Wetlands and threatened species are also present within the drainages. Migration of mercury from the site 

continues to contaminate sediments in Cottage Grove Reservoir. 

 Response Activities (to date): 

At the request of the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ), EPA completed some cleanup action in 

2007 consisting of regrading the main tailings pile to prevent erosion, and the capping of certain areas of contaminated 

soil. Significant contamination remains and sampling confirms that the site remains a source of mercury to the Coast 

Fork of the Willamette River and the Cottage Grove Reservoir, where mercury contamination in sediments has 

resulted in a fish advisory. 

 Need for NPL Listing: 

NPL listing will address the contamination that remains on site, which continues to impact surface water habitat 

downstream and Cottage Grove Reservoir. ODEQ does not have the available resources to address problems at the 

site, and the scope and complexity of the remaining contamination exceeds the capacity of EPA’s removal program. 

The current property owner has limited resources and there are no viable potentially responsible private parties that 

have been identified. EPA received a letter of support for placing this site on the NPL from the State. 

[The description of the site (release) is based on information available at the time the site was evaluated with the HRS. The description may change 

as additional information is gathered on the sources and extent of contamination.] 

For more information about the hazardous substances identified in this narrative summary, including general information regarding the effects of exposure to these 

substances on human health, please see the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) ToxFAQs. ATSDR ToxFAQs can be found on the Internet 

at http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxfaq.html or by telephone at 1-888-42-ATSDR or 1-888-422-8737.