Holden Mine Five Year Review Complete

The USDA Forest Service recently completed a five year review at the Holden Mine remediation site.

The review found the recent heavy construction at the site met all required environmental standards. The review studied water quality, soil contamination, and other aspects of protecting human health.

Public Affairs Officer Holly Krake provided an idea of the scope of the restoration project.

"A 30 to 90 foot deep concrete barrier wall was constructed between the toxic tailings piles and Railroad Creek. They are currently running thousands of gallons of contaminated groundwater daily through the treatment plant ... We're talking about an incredible amount of heavy earth moving, concrete work and then replanting last year to help restore the site at Holden Mine."

While most of the heavy construction has been completed, the site will likely require human intervention long into the future.

"Things are on track but that still means there's still additional work to be done, like with the groundwater effort." Krake continued, "We will potentially be treating surface water and contaminated groundwater for decades to come as it continues to seep through those tailings piles and to make sure the water coming off the site meets water quality standards. The work at Holden Mine is a long term commitment to human health and the environment."

An open house is scheduled for November 8th, 2018 at the Lake Chelan Chamber of Commerce from 6-7 pm to share more information on the project.