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Lucky Friday is located in United States, 2km East of Mullan. Lucky Friday is a silver (veins) deposit, with additional occurrences of copper, gold, lead, and zinc. Lucky Friday is an underground operation.
Hecla Mining and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced on Monday that the miner will pay a $600,000 penalty for water pollution violations near the headwaters of the South Fork Coeur d’Alene River caused by the Lucky Friday Mine.
The violations occurred between 2009 and 2014.
Hecla told the CDA Press it is settling with the EPA reluctantly.
“We don’t agree with the EPA on all of these allegations,” Luke Russell, vice president of external affairs for Hecla in Coeur d’Alene, said Monday following the announcement of the settlement. “But it’s in the best interests of the company to settle and move on.”
According to the EPA, Hecla’s tailings pond three was found seeping metals-laden water that discharged into Harris Creek. During construction of a tailings pond four, Hecla also failed to install adequate controls to ensure that storm water runoff was properly managed and soon turbid runoff destroyed a water intake at a downstream fish hatchery.
In both cases, the EPA charged that Hecla failed to properly report the event. In all, EPA inspections documented close to 500 combined (effluent limit, unpermitted, and reporting) violations.
“The last thing rivers like the South Fork Coeur d’Alene need are unpermitted discharges and permit violations,” said Ed Kowalski, Director of Compliance and Enforcement at EPA’s Seattle office.
“Compliance with wastewater discharge permits is critical to protecting Idaho’s waterways. By maintaining the integrity of its discharges and ponds, and reporting problems quickly, Hecla can help protect and restore the health of the South Fork and its tributaries.”
2 Comments
Mullan
The EPA is full of money grubbing liars…
LAMB
Large companies have got to understand that they cannot POLLUTE our Water Systems in order to make money for themselves and shareholders. Now they will understand that the costs they saved by allowing pollution will be much higher when they POLLUTE and get FINED.
For the first time, I have to agree with the EPA – the GREED of large Mining companies must be tempered by a respect for The Environment. The minerals in the ground are not theirs to take without respecting our Environment.