Iron Mountain Mine

Summary

LOCATION: Spring Creek, adjacent creeks, and Sacramento River, Shasta County.
DATE: Chronic, remediation in progress
INCIDENT SUMMARY: Acid mine drainage (AMD) from Iron Mountain Mine runs out of the mine site and into several creeks, reservoirs, and the Sacramento River, impacting many miles of streams and adjacent land. Salmon kills have been noted since 1899.
RESPONSIBLE PARTY: Aventis CropScience USA Inc., Stauffer Management Company, Atkemix Thirty Seven Inc.
NATURAL RESOURCE TRUSTEES: California Dept. of Fish and Wildlife; United States Fish and Wildlife Service; Bureau of Land Management; Bureau of Reclamation; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
RESOURCES IMPACTED: Instream habitat and wildlife (fish, macroinvertebrates); riparian habitat; fisheries (salmon).
SETTLEMENT DETAILS: The trustees settled the NRDA portion of the case for $9 million.
STATUS OF RESTORATION: Final Restoration Plan issued in April 2002; restoration projects are complete; see NOAA DARRP site (below) for details.

Patricia Bratcher
Patricia.Bratcher@wildlife.ca.gov
(530) 225-3845