WHEREAS:

1. The Leviathan Mine (Mine) is an inactive sulfur mine on property presently owned by the State of California under the jurisdiction of the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB). The mine is located in Alpine County, approximately five miles east of Markleeville, California;

1. Degradation of water quality in Leviathan, Aspen, and Bryant Creeks occurs as a result of the discharge of acid mine drainage (AMD) from the Mine. The AMD from the Mine can be characterized as a dilute sulfuric solution (pH 2-3) containing dissolved heavy metals including arsenic, copper, nickel, aluminum, and iron;

1. Anaconda Minerals Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO), conducted open pit mining at the Mine from 1954 until 1962. Anaconda's mining activities contributed to the discharge of AMD from the Mine;

1. ARCO, through its ownership of Anaconda Minerals Company, is a previous mine owner/operator;

1. In 1984, the SWRCB acquired ownership of the mine. The Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board (LRWQCB) completed the Leviathan Mine Pollution Abatement Project in 1985. The completed project included several remediation measures, including channelization of Leviathan Creek to prevent its contact with mine tailings, regrading and compacting the mine pit to reduce AMD production, and construction of five lined ponds to capture and partially evaporate AMD from underground mine workings;

1. The LRWQCB is participating in an extensive effort to remediate AMD discharges from the mine and received an additional 2.6 PYs per year for five years and $4,520,000 in contracts for five years through a Budget Change Proposal (BCP) to assist in this effort;

1. The BCP resources added this year will not cover all of the work required to address the Mine's problems because two significant new issues have arisen;

1. First the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued an Administrative Order on Consent (AOC) to ARCO mandating AMD removal from the ponds at the mine. Significant additional LRWQCB staff time is needed to coordinate EPA's mandate with ongoing LRWQCB remediation efforts;

1. Second, a federally mandated Natural Resources Damage Assessment (NRDA) by a trustee group is underway to assess environmental damages caused by the mine. Significant additional LRWQCB staff time is needed to monitor the NRDA's scope of work to ensure its accuracy and to ensure its relevance to the overall remediation efforts;

1. To complete the additional LRWQCB tasks resulting from both the EPA's AOC and the federally mandated NRDA, an additional staff position is needed for 12 months at a cost of $105,000; and

1. AMD has damaged a culvert under the main access road to the mine, an additional $10,000 is needed to contribute towards replacing the culvert, thus ensuring continued remediation at the mine.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT:

The State Water Resources Control Board authorizes its Executive Director or his designee to allocate funds from the Cleanup and Abatement Account, in the amount of $105,000 to fund 1 PY for 12 months for LRWQCB staff to complete additional tasks relative to the pollution abatement activities at Leviathan Mine and $10,000 to contribute towards replacing the culvert.

The undersigned, Administrative Assistant to the Board, does hereby certify that the foregoing is a full, true, and correct copy of a resolution duly and regularly adopted at a meeting of the State Water Resources Control Board held on November 19, 1998.

______________________________

Maureen Marché

Administrative Assistant to the Board