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# U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT

Oregon / Washington

National BLM > OR/WA> Lands > Abandoned Mine Program 

# Formosa Mine

BLM District Roseburg (Oregon) BLM Field Office South River Congressional District Oregon 4th AMLIS # OR1058-00002 State Office Contact John Barber HUC # /Subbasin 17100302
Field Office Contact Susan Lee Specific Watershed South Umpqua

Location West side of Silver Butte (T30S, R6W, Sec. 23,SESW, NESW, Willamette Meridian, Lat. 42.857921, Long. -123.381888) Land Ownership Private & BLM-administered lands Estimated Cost $680,000 (BLM) Other Agency Links Oregon Dept. of Environmental Quality Google Earth Click here for map The Formosa Mine, located within BLM's Roseburg Dis trict, is a mixed ownership National Priority Liste d site which includes Bureau administered land. The s ite was listed on EPA's National Priority List (Sup erfund) in 2007. Acid mine drainage from adits tailings is leaching high levels of metals into local streams n egatively impacting water quality and fisheries. BLM is worki ng cooperatively with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), an d the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ) on a remedial plan and interim actions to manage acid mine drainage and its impacts on local resources at this Comprehensive Environmental Respo nse, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) site.

1 of 3 3/15/2016 5:15 PMThe objective of this project is to assist EPA in c ompleting the investigations needed to design the f inal cleanup remedy for the Formosa mine site. The curre ntly envisioned preferred alternative would recomme nd a phased, adaptive management approach that recognize s the extremely complex nature of the site to resto re the affected watersheds to pre-mining conditions supportive of fish populations and aquatic life. The proj ect is of significant community interest to Riddle and other communities in Douglas County and is one of the hig hest priority mine cleanup projects for ODEQ and BLM. Th e project has the support of numerous members of th e public including state congressional officials, cou nty commissioners, and local elected officials, as well as many local organizations as indicated through direc t communications at public meetings and personal conversations. Easily implementable, low risk techn ologies will be applied to minimize the production and off-site migration of contaminants with the best ch ances of success at the lowest cost. The results wi ll be closely monitored to determine the need, extent, an d cost of any additional technologies needed to mee t clean-up objectives. The mine was most recently operated between 1990 an d 1993 by Formosa Exploration, Inc., a Canadian mining company. In 1993, when mining operations terminated, the company and the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries began reclamation wo rk. Formosa Inc., abandoned the site in 1994. By 19 97, the system to handle mine drainage was no longer fu nctioning; resulting in release of untreated acid mine drainage into the headwaters of Middle Creek directly affecting 18 miles of stream located on private timber land and on BLM-managed lands. Since 1994, the ODEQ and BLM have spent over $2 million on site investigations and interim cleanup actions. The tot al cost of implementing a cleanup remedy is still u nder review, but could exceed $20 million. An interagency memorandum of understanding (MOU) be tween EPA and BLM is currently under development, and EPA is conducting a search for Pot entially Responsible Parties (PRPs). EPA has asked BLM to enter into a cost sharing agreement for reme dial actions at the Formosa site, because Superfund money cannot be utilized on Federal lands. BLM is p roviding both funding and work-in-kind to assist EP A in completing the Remedial Investigation/Feasibility S tudy (RI/FS), which includes ecological health hazards to the Middle Creek and South Fork of Middle Creek wat ersheds. Additionally, BLM will perform an Engineering Evaluation/Cost Analysis (EE/CA) for a removal action to address acid mine drainage from the Formosa #1 adit as part of a two unit task. Unit On e will include completion of a RI/FS, project propo sal, and record of decision (ROD) for surface features, wast e rock, tailings piles, and surface water managemen t. Unit Two tasks will focus on ground water sampling plans , installation of monitoring wells, and implementin g RI/FS findings. BLM will also undertake an EE/CA an d initiate a non-time-critical removal action to ad dress the failing acid mine drainage diversion system andprovide operation and maintenance funding for the system (AMLIS OR1058-00002).

Precipitates from Mine Drainage

Mine Drainage Collection System

Existing Mine Drainage Treatment Boxes

2 of 3 3/15/2016 5:15 PMMine Drainage Seeping from Backfilled Portal

Existing Mine Drainage Collection System

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