Van Stone Mine

20 Miles N Of Colville Colville, Stevens County
Facility Site ID: 1554858 Cleanup Site ID: 461

  • Site Status

  • Cleanup Started

More about cleanup

Cleanup Site Overview

View of the east impoundment on the lower tailings pile (click to enlarge)
View of the east impoundment on the lower tailings pile (click to enlarge)

The Van Stone Mine cleanup site is located off Van Stone Road in the Selkirk Mountains and Onion Creek watershed. The site is surrounded by forest, private residences, and Onion Creek school.

Specific contaminants vary by area, but in general, soil is contaminated with antimony, arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury, and zinc. Surface water discharging into Onion Creek tributaries from tailings piles also have levels of contaminants requiring cleanup.
 
>>Learn more in the Cleanup section below.

Mining History

The Van Stone Mine operated on and off from 1938 to 1993 as an underground and then open-pit lead and zinc mine. To support open pit operations, the American Smelting and Refining Company (ASARCO) constructed a flotation mill to process the ore mined onsite. Blasted rock not classified as ore was placed into waste rock dumps around the open pit operations.

As the ore was processed though the flotation mill, lead and zinc concentrates were produced and shipped off-site. Milling process material not classified as concentrates (tailings) was transported as a slurry through pipelines to one of the two tailings piles. Water used to transport tailings was most likely poured off and allowed to flow into nearby drainages connected to Onion Creek.

The upper tailings pile was used until a berm failure in 1961 resulted in a release of water and tailings into a tributary to Onion Creek. The lower tailings pile replaced it until the mine closed. In 1992, Equinox placed a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) liner on top of the lower tailings pile and constructed a seepage collection pond out of tailings next to the facility. Tailings were then placed on top of the PVC liner during a brief restart of mining operations. A PVC geomembrane was also installed on top of the upper tailings pile for emergency tailings storage.

After final shutdown, mine buildings, access roads, waste rock, process tailings, and exposed mining faces remained. Since then, the PVC geomembranes have degraded from sun exposure.

Cleanup

Map of the Van Stone Mine cleanup site (click to enlarge)
Map of the Van Stone Mine cleanup site (click to enlarge)
Several companies were involved with mining activities at the site over the years, and other companies and individuals have purchased portions of the property. Potentially liable parties have included ASARCO, Callahan Mining Corp., Sundown Holdings, Ltd., Equinox Resources Inc., and Vaagen Brothers Lumber, Inc. (Vaagen). 

In 2005, ASARCO filed for reorganization under the United States Bankruptcy Code. Ecology filed a claim related to cleaning up Van Stone Mine as part of the ASARCO bankruptcy proceedings. Under the settlement, we received $3.5 million that we have used to investigate the site and complete emergency cleanup actions. Some of this settlement remains to fund cleanup. We have a 2011 agreement with Vaagen that allows us to access the site to investigate contamination.
 
The contaminated areas investigated and slated for cleanup are:
  • The former Mill area, two open pits, and waste rock piles, which includes West End Pit Lake and the Pit Lake Dam (AOI-1) 
  • Upper and lower tailings piles (AOI-2 and AOI-3, respectively) 
  • Tailings pipelines and access roads (AOI-4) 
  • Onion Creek and its tributaries (AOI-5)
In 2012, heavy spring rains and runoff caused water to build up on the upper tailings pile until it overflowed and washed tailings into a tributary to Onion Creek. Ecology completed emergency actions to improve drainage and decrease the slope of the tailings pile to prevent future wash outs. 
 
The investigation Ecology directed to determine the full extent and locations of contamination at the mine was completed in 2013. 
 
To address safety issues related to the Pit Lake Dam, Ecology's Dam Safety Office inspected it in summer 2016 and issued a report of findings and required actions in 2017. We used this information to develop cleanup options.
 
Cleanup options evaluated in the draft 2017 Feasibility Study include: 
  • Limiting public access and posting hazard warnings
  • Placing restrictions on future property use
  • Containing waste rock and tailings piles with or without a cover
  • Centralizing all tailings and dangerous waste into one area and covering it
  • Disposing of tailings and some waste rock at an offsite landfill
We held a public comment period May 22 through June 22, 2017, for the draft Feasibility Study. We hosted a public meeting June 14, 2017, to explain the cleanup options and answer questions. You may download our presentation from the meeting and a summary of attendees' questions and our answers.
 
Following the comment period, we responded to the comments we received from three people. We finalized the study without making changes, but we used the comments we received while writing the cleanup plan.
 
The Cleanup Action Plan explains how we will consolidate and cover contaminated material, decrease steep slopes, and improve the spillway at North Pit Lake. The plan was open for public comment May 15 to June 16, 2023. We held a public meeting June 8, 2023, to explain the plan and answer questions. You may download our presentation from the meeting and a summary of attendees' questions and our answers.

Following the comment period, we responded to the comments we received from two people and three organizations. In response to comments, we corrected parcel ownership and ongoing maintenance requirements as requested by the Stevens County Commissioners.

Now that the Cleanup Action Plan is finished, Ecology is moving forward with the first stage of cleanup: addressing the dam at North Pit Lake. The draft Engineering Design Report for cleanup will be available for public review and comment.
Places to see print documents
Legal 1
Document Title Document Date Document Type
Agreed Order, Scope of Work, and Public Participation Plan 8/2/2011 Agreed Order
Public Information 13
Technical Reports 20
Document Title Document Date Document Type
Cleanup Action Plan: Van Stone Mine 12/22/2023 Cleanup Action Plan
Van Stone Mine Feasibility Study 5/3/2017 Feasibility Study
Dam Safety Inspection findings and required actions: Van Stone Mine 4/18/2017 Site Specific Technical Document - other
Remedial Investigation Report Appendix J - XRF 11/30/2013 Remedial Investigation Report
Remedial Investigation Report Appendix I - ERA 11/30/2013 Remedial Investigation Report
Remedial Investigation Report Appendix H - HHRA 11/30/2013 Remedial Investigation Report
Remedial Investigation Report Appendix G - Weather Station 11/30/2013 Remedial Investigation Report
Remedial Investigation Report Appendix F - Tailings Pile Stability 11/30/2013 Remedial Investigation Report
Remedial Investigation Report Appendix E - Pit Stability 11/30/2013 Remedial Investigation Report
Remedial Investigation Report Appendix D - Pit Lake Dam Stability 11/30/2013 Remedial Investigation Report
Remedial Investigation Report Appendix C - Data Review 11/30/2013 Remedial Investigation Report
Remedial Investigation Report Appendix B - Background Memo 11/30/2013 Remedial Investigation Report
Remedial Investigation Report Appendix A - Field Methods 11/30/2013 Remedial Investigation Report
Remedial Investigation Report Tables 1-23 Van Stone Mine Site 2014 11/30/2013 Remedial Investigation Report
Remedial Investigation Report Figures 1-11 Van Stone Mine 2014 11/30/2013 Remedial Investigation Report
Remedial Investigation Report Van Stone Mine Site 2014 11/30/2013 Remedial Investigation Report
Emergency Remedial Action Construction Complete Report for Van Stone Mine December 2012 12/26/2012 Remedial Action Report
Emergency Action Work Plan Van Stone Mine Site Oct 2012 10/22/2012 Interim Action Documents
Draft Final Work Plan for Remedial Investigation Feasibility Study 6/17/2011 Remedial Investigation Work Plan
Van Stone Mine - Site Hazard Assessment 2/21/2007 Site Hazard Assessment Report
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.
  • Onion Creek School District
    2006 Lotze Creek Road
    Colville, 99114-8602
    This location may only have print documents available during open comment periods.
  • Onion Creek General Store/Library
    2191 Onion Creek Road
    Colville, 99114
    This location may only have print documents available during open comment periods.

Contaminants 1

Contaminant Type
Soil
Groundwater
Surface Water
Air
Sediment
Bedrock
Metals - Metals Priority Pollutants C C C S C
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.