A commitment to safely helping a former mining community clean up.

From the late 1880s to the 1950s the town of Eureka Mills thrived on the mining industry as the region yielded bountiful lead, silver, zinc and copper. The modern legacy of mining in the Eureka Valley was revealed during soil sampling of residential areas by the Utah DEQ which showed high levels of arsenic and lead long after mining operations ceased. Testing by the Utah Department of Health revealed elevated lead blood levels among Eureka Mills residents, especially children.

The Eureka Mills Superfund Site Project quickly rose to a high priority for USACE Omaha District as a multi-operable unit remediation project focused on addressing heavy metal contamination in the community's soil, resulting from historic mining operations. The remedy included the removal of lead-contaminated soils from virtually every residential and commercial property and the capping of mine waste piles adjacent to residential areas.

Our team sprung into action and prepared HTRW Remedial Design (RD) for the residential remediation through the development of plans for each property affected. During the residential remediation, our community outreach team worked closely with property owners, the city of Eureka, USACE, USEPA R8 stakeholders, and the remediation contractor to keep everyone informed and safe. The team's streamlined approach resulted in timely, fiscally responsible and culturally responsive demolition determinations.

Leading the development of standardized construction details, we offered the construction contractor specific methods for cap terminations, utility avoidance and relocation, and other relevant details anticipated during residential cleanup.

In all, we developed plans for more than 600 privately or commercially owned properties.

In addition, our experts provided RD support for revising FEMA flood mapping to reflect completed mine waste remedial action structures through the Letter of Map Revision process and supported cultural resource mitigation through development of plans, specifications, and construction support for stabilization of a historic building in Eureka.

For mine waste activities, our team reviewed technical submittals, developed record drawings and range of technical resources to assist with EPA enforcement investigations, conducted construction permitting and remedial design during construction, and provided "boots on the ground" to oversee Potentially Responsible Party (PRP) construction efforts.