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Show Surface runoff from lands adjoining the disposal site is routed around the site, and all runoff from the ash itself is contained within the disposal area. Shallow ground- water wells have been installed by SRP at depths ranging from 30 to 50 feet at distances of 30 to 500 feet from the ash disposal site. According to SRP, no changes in ground- water quality have yet been detected in the wells. However, since the ash disposal site is in a drainage tributary to Lake Powell, the potential effects of fly- ash constituents, particularly metals, on water resources are of concern. North of Bullfrog, uranium mine waste and mill tailings have been placed adjacent to Shootering Creek, a tributary of Hansen Creek that drains south into Lake Powell. The mine waste and tailings are located approximately 10 miles north of the NRA near Ticaboo, Utah, and occur on lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management ( BLM) and the State of Utah. These waste materials were generated by the Tony- M uranium mine and an associated milling operation. Both are owned and operated by Plateau Resources. The operation is closed down due to the currently depressed economic state of the uranium industry; however, Plateau Resources continues to keep the mine dewatered. Water is pumped to a nearby total containment pond. When the mine was operating, large amounts of unprocessed ore were placed immediately adjacent to Shootering Creek. Only a small amount of commercial production occurred. Tailings from the mill were disposed of in a bentonite- lined pond located near Shootering Creek. Plateau Resources submits monitoring reports to the State of Utah and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on its current pumping activities and on surface- and ground- water resources in the immediate vicinity of the mine and mill. Utah's Bureau of Water Pollution Control conducts no surface- or ground- water monitoring in the area of Plateau Resources' operation or downstream on either Shootering or Hansen Creeks. The Bureau of Land Management has conducted some very limited hydrologic monitoring downstream on Hansen Creek and at several springs on Ticaboo Mesa, two miles to the east. III. N. 2. Management alternatives and impacts. Alternative A: No action Under this alternative, no additional information would be obtained by NPS with respect to SRP's ash disposal activities near Page or the mine wastes and mill tailings disposed of adjacent to Shootering Creek by Plateau Resources. Specific information on local hydrologic effects associated with these waste disposal activities would remain sparse, and potential downstream impacts on the water resources of the recreation area would remain unknown. 60 |
