Fall-Winter 2000-2001 Bulletin

EPA to Molycorp: Stop dumping 15.2 million pounds (7,601 tons) of pollutants per year into the Red River

Amigos Bravos Declares “Huge Victory for Clean Water in New Mexico” On Friday, December 8, 2000 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) re-issued a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit for discharges to the Red River from the Molycorp/Unocal molybdenum mine in Questa, New Mexico. The new permit addresses Amigos Bravos’ concerns that acid mine drainage (AMD) originating from the 328 million tons of waste rock sitting next to the Red River cease. The acid mine drainage, which consists of aluminum, cadmium, cobalt, chromium, copper, fluoride, iron, molybdenum, manganese, nickel, lead, zinc, sulfates and total dissolved solids, is generated by the waste rock piles and then migrates through ground water to seeps that discharge directly into the Red River. The Red River in the vicinity of the Molycorp mine is New Mexico's most heavily metal-polluted river. According to EPA's calculations, the new NPDES permit will eliminate 15,220,205 pounds per year of metals, sulfide and TDS from discharging into the Red River. This is a total of 7,601 tons of pollutants which will no longer be accumulating annually in the Red River. This pollution does not stop at the Red River, but migrates into acequias -- providing water for crops, kitchen gardens and livestock -- and eventually to the Río Grande, a proposed future source of drinking water for Albuquerque and Santa Fe. The new NPDES permit represents a great victory in the struggle to restore the Red River. It comes as a result, we can say with some confidence, of sustained pressure from Amigos Bravos, our allies and our supporters. Back in 1995 Amigos Bravos sued Molycorp for acid mine drainage under the citizens’ provision of the Clean Water Act. Then, with our team of experts assembled, we fought Molycorp in and out of hearings in which they consistently denied their responsibilities and covered up their role in the degradation of the Red River. In 1998 Amigos Bravos sued the EPA, who had resisted regulating the discharges for too long. Those actions by Amigos Bravos have now born fruit. Coming in the wake of two other major breakthroughs in the last month, this victory is especially sweet. On November 15, 2000, the New Mexico Environment Department issued a ground water discharge permit for the mine area east of Questa. The permit requires an upgrade in the collection and treatment of polluted run-off from the waste rock dumps, and outlines how Molycorp will stop pollution from occurring once the mine is closed and reclaimed. The permit also requires that Molycorp post a $129 million bond so that taxpayers won't be stuck paying for the cleanup. Then on November 30, 2000, the Environment Department issued another ground water discharge permit outlining reclamation requirements for the tailings site west of Questa. The permit requires that the 1,000 acres of tailings be covered with 36 inches (3 feet) of soil to prevent groundwater contamination. The permit also requires an additional bond of $23 million to pay for the work that will be required. Groundwater associated with both of these permits seeps into the Red River. While we recognize that there will be many hurdles ahead in our efforts to restore the Red River, Amigos Bravos celebrates these new breakthroughs and commits to continue protecting New Mexico's important water resources from all sources of pollution.

 

Molycorp Pollutant Loadings (Seeps) to the Red River Eliminated by New Permit

Pollutant	Total Annual Pounds Removed
Aluminum	611,560
Cadmium	182
Cobalt	1,607
Chromium	210
Copper	5,051
Flourine	36,677
Iron	354,282
Molybdenum	129
Manganese	272,670
Nickel	330
Lead	239
Zinc	46,743
TOTAL	1,329,680
Sulfate	7,706,595
TDS	6,183,930
Total Loading Metals, Sulfide, and TDS	15,220,205

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