Summit County Citizens Voice

Learn about Snake River cleanup efforts at a July 21 meeting and field trip.

The abandoned Pennsylvania Mine is one of the biggest sources of pollution in the Snake River.

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — The most polluted stream in Summit County will once again be scrutinized by scientists, citizens and other stakeholders in a cleanup group that has been spinning its wheels in the slippery muck of liability issues the past 15 years.

The Snake River Watershed Task Force is meeting July 21 and holding a public tour of the abandoned Pennsylvania Mine site the same day. The purpose of the meeting is to provide updates on recent and upcoming scientific investigations pertaining to the Pennsylvania Mine, including investigations to occur this summer.  The meeting will include presentations and Q&A; the meeting is open to the public.

The Pennsylvania Mine is acknowledged as one of the primary sources of toxic heavy metals, including zinc, cadmium and arsenic. Concentrations of some of those metals far exceed state-set standards set to protect aquatic life. As a result, water in Peru Creek and the main stem of the Snake River is toxic to trout, especially browns, which can only survive for a few weeks in the most heavily tainted sections of the stream.

So far, all the research and talk hasn’t yielded much in the way of water quality improvements, and the group has a long way to go to meet its stated goal of cleaning up the stream to where it could support a self-sustaining trout population. Some of the most recent data suggests a trend of worsening water quality, especially in the late summer and fall when flows are lowest.

On the brighter side, the most recent survey of trout populations in the Snake River where it flows through Keystone Resort show that brook trout populations might be rebounding from a devastating spike in metals resulting from an extraordinary rain storm in 2007.

The field trip to the Pennsylvania Mine site will be held on Thursday, July 21, from 11 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.  Jeff Graves of the Colorado Division of Reclamation Mining and Safety will lead the tour. Participants will meet at the Keystone Center at 1628 Sts John Road in Keystone and then carpool to the Pennsylvania Mine site.

Attendees will need to use their own vehicles to carpool (high clearance and 4WD are recommended) and should bring their own lunches and water. Following the field trip, the Snake River Watershed Task Force meeting will be held from 3-5 p.m. at the Keystone Center.

If you would like to a attend the meeting and/or the field trip, please RSVP to Julie Shapiro at jshapiro@keystone.org.

Filed under: Environment, rivers Tagged: | Pennsylvania Mine, Snake River