Eagle Mine monitoring shows no violations
The Superior Watershed Partnership presented an assessment on its monitoring of the Eagle Mine Thursday night. The findings show no major violations by the mine.
The Community Environmental Monitoring Program (CEMP) monitors a number of items at the mine, such as pollution in groundwater. For the first and second quarters of this year, the monitoring program found minor traces of uranium and other minerals, but they are all considered natural levels in the environment.
“We have the data, we’ve seen the data since 2008,” CEMP Outreach Coordinator and Program Manager Natasha Koss said. “(The new data) is pretty consistent with that (the old) data. It’s basically background data so we’re not surprised we’re seeing what we’re seeing. We just hope the DEQ (Department of Environmental Quality) recognizes they have to figure out what is the appropriate amount for that area.”
The CEMP will continue to monitor the mine when it is fully operational, and even after the mine closes.
“So far it’s really kind of helpful that we have the process that we have up to this point,” Koss said. “We have a feeling down the line there’s going to be data we collect that who knows what it’s going to be, but we’re going to have to keep an eye on it. The idea is that we’re transparent.”
Koss said the SWP wants the public to see the CEMP findings. The findings can be found at www.cempmonitoring.com.