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McLaren Tailings Reclamation Project

 New Fact Sheet McLaren Tailings Reclamation Project December 2010 

  McLaren Map
 

The McLaren Tailings Site is located near Cooke City, MT in a valley drained by Soda Butte Creek, which runs through the site and eventually through Yellowstone National Park, approximately five miles downstream. Environmental studies conducted over the past 30 years have determined that the McLaren Tailings Site is a significant source of acid mine drainage contributing to the poor water quality of Soda Butte Creek. Soda Butte Creek downstream of the McLaren Tailings is listed as a Montana 303(d) impaired water body. The tailings dam is located adjacent to Soda Butte Creek where high flows could erode and saturate the dam causing an unacceptable risk of dam failure. Such a failure could cause significant damage to the physical habitat within Soda Butte Creek and release contaminated material which would be deposited along Soda Butte Creek and the Lamar River valley within Yellowstone National Park.

Site reclamation work will commence in June 2010 and include active tailings dewatering, operation of a water treatment system, lime stabilization of mine wastes, and the construction of an on-site repository. An Invitation for Bid was issued by the DEQ on October 7, 2009, and the pre-bid conference and site walk-through were held on October 28, 2009. Bids for the reclamation work will be received until February 18, 2010 at 2:00 p.m. local time, and then publicly opened and read. DEQ responses to bidders questions are posted at the Montana One Stop Vendor Information Site.

 

Bid Solicitation

Project Documents