Pend Oreille Mine

1382 PEND OREILLE MINES RD METALINE FALLS, Pend Oreille County
Facility Site ID: 15428546 Cleanup Site ID: 2194

  • Site Status

  • Cleanup Complete-Active O&M/Monitoring

  • Brownfield

  • This site has received funding as part of our Brownfields Program.
    Brownfields Public Funding: $200,000.00

More about cleanup

Site Background

The Pend Oreille Mine site is two miles north of Metaline Falls on the east side of the Pend Oreille River.

Teck American Inc. (Teck) owns and operates the Pend Oreille Mine, which is an underground lead and zinc mine. The metals mined there are shipped to their smelter in Trail, British Columbia, Canada (see our Upper Columbia River website for more information). Teck is in the process of permanently closing the mine.

The Pend Oreille Mine cleanup site is two tailings disposal facilities (TDFs), referred to as TDFs 1 and 2, that were used from 1967 and 1977. TDFs 1 and 2 are 18 and 9 acres, respectively.

Teck now uses TDF 3, which is not included in this cleanup and will be addressed during the complete mine closure process.

Investigating Contamination

Teck entered into a legal agreement with us in 2005. The agreement required Teck to conduct a supplemental remedial investigation and feasibility study (RI/FS).

The investigation examined the extent of metals contamination in soil, groundwater, and surface water at TDFs 1 and 2. The FS evaluated cleanup options.

Groundwater contaminants found

The investigation showed elevated levels of iron and manganese in groundwater around the TDFs. Groundwater in these areas flows toward the Pend Oreille River. One of the primary purposes of the work at the site is to protect the river and local streams.

Drinking water was not found to be affected by site-related contaminants.

Soil contaminants found

Lead and arsenic in soil around the TDFs exceeded Washington state standards for human health.

Cleanup

Using information from the RI/FS, Ecology wrote a Cleanup Action Plan in 2011, selecting our preferred cleanup options. The consent decree formalized the agreement between Ecology and Teck to complete the cleanup.

The cleanup actions for TDFs 1 and 2 are as follows:
  • Regrade the piles to remove steep slopes and minimize erosion 
  • Compact their surfaces
  • Place protective covers systems over the piles to prevent stormwater from carrying contaminants to groundwater
  • Manage stormwater runoff
Places to see print documents
Legal 7
Public Information 3
State Environmental Policy Act 1
Document Title Document Date Document Type
Pend Oreille Mine SEPA Checklist and DNS 2/14/2011 SEPA Documents
Technical Reports 4
Document Title Document Date Document Type
Pend Oreille Mine DCAP Figures 1-4 2/1/2011 Cleanup Action Plan
Pend Oreille Mine DCAP Figure 1 2/1/2011 Cleanup Action Plan
Pend Oreille Mine Exhibit B of Consent Decree - DCAP 2/1/2011 Cleanup Action Plan
Pend Oreille Mine Supplemental Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study 6/3/2010 Remedial Investigation / Feasibility Study
There may be more documents related to this site. To obtain documents not available electronically, you will need to make a public records request.

Places to see print documents

  • Eastern Regional Office
    N 4601 Monroe St
    Spokane, 99205-1265
    Please schedule an appointment to view print documents at this location.

Contaminants 1

Contaminant Type
Soil
Groundwater
Surface Water
Air
Sediment
Bedrock
Metals - Metals Priority Pollutants C C S
S
Suspected
C
Confirmed Above Cleanup Levels
B
Below Cleanup Levels
RA
Remediated-Above
RB
Remediated-Below
R
Remediated
This contaminant list was based on our best information at the time it was entered. It may not reflect current conditions at the site.