New Almaden Mine

Summary

• LOCATION: Guadalupe River and South San Francisco Bay, Santa Clara County.
• DATE: Mining/processing of mercury occurred from 1845 through 1971.
• INCIDENT SUMMARY: Operation of the New Almaden Mine released injurious amounts of mercury into the Guadalupe River watershed and south San Francisco Bay.
• RESPONSIBLE PARTIES: County of Santa Clara, Santa Clara Valley Water District, City of San Jose, Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, Myers Industries, Inc., Buckhorn, Inc., Guadalupe Rubbish Disposal Company, Inc., Sunoco, Inc., Newson, Inc., and E.A. Viner, International, Co., Inc.
• NATURAL RESOURCE TRUSTEES: California Dept. of Fish and Wildlife, United States Fish and Wildlife Service
• RESOURCES IMPACTED: Anadromous and other fish species, riparian and salt marsh birds, and aquatic invertebrates.
• SETTLEMENT DETAILS: The trustees settled the NRDA portion of the case for a suite of projects valued at approximately $6,750,822. The projects consisted of riparian restoration in several tributaries of the Guadalupe watershed (benefiting anadromous fish, resident fish, wildlife and invertebrates) and a predation reduction project for the endangered California Clapper Rail in South San Francisco Bay.
• STATUS OF RESTORATION: Implementation.

Available Documents

• Almaden Quicksilver Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment Final October, 2008 (PDF)
• Decision Document Concerning the Almaden Quicksilver Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment (PDF)
• Hacienda and Deep Gulch Remediation Project (PDF)

Contact

Michael Anderson
Michael.Anderson@wildlife.ca.gov
(916) 375-6672