1. Leona Heights Sulfur Mine & Creek Cleanup
WELCOME
Leona Heights Sulfur Mine & Creek Cleanup
Lindsay Whalin, MS, PG
Darin Ranelletti

2. Leona Heights Sulfur Mine & Creek Cleanup
Good evening and thank you for coming. Please silence your cell phones.
Also, if you haven’t already signed in, there is a sign in sheet (location.) We will use this to keep in touch for future annoucements, we promise not to sell your information to spammers.
My name is Lindsay Whalin. I’m a geologist and chemist with the San Francisco Bay WB.
Our job is to protect the quality of our water, for the benefit of people and wildlife, by enforcing environmental laws. I specialize in overseeing the clean up of mines that pollute our water.
We’ve invited you here today to involve you in the cleanup of one of these mines.
Project purpose & Design
Lindsay Whalin, MS, PG
San Francisco Bay Water Board

3. Presentation Outline Purpose of Cleanup Project Goals Current Design
1. Lindsay
2. Phil
3. Darin
Purpose of Cleanup
Project Goals
Current Design
Construction Management
Project Duration
Construction days/hours
Road use/ Traffic
Noise control
Dust control
Access route
Staging areas
City Permits
Environmental Review
Timeline
Next Steps
This is an outline of our talk today. There will be 3 speakers
The focus of my portion of the presentation will be to explain why the cleanup is necessary, define the project goals, and then briefly describe the current design concept.
After me, one of the project designers Phil Goalwin and my cohost from the City, Darin Ranelletti will take over to discuss temporary impacts and what we’re doing to minimize your inconvenience and limit affects on the environment during construction. Then, we’d like to hear from you.

4. N Location Mining Waste Piles McDonell Ave. Leona St.
The Leona Heights Sulfur Mine is located nearby in the Oakland hills. We are currently sitting hereabouts, the site is south, nearer the junction of Interstate 580 and Hwy 13 at the cul-de-sac on McDonell Ave (shown here in red). The mine propertyline ends here at Leona St. (shown in yellow).
* These light areas here are piles of mining waste left behind when mining ceased. The pile on the right sits higher on the hill, so we call this the upper pile, and on the left, the lower pile.
* Leona Creek runs through the site

5. Leona Heights Sulfur Mine & Creek Cleanup5
Why do the mine and creek require cleaning up?
The Problem

6. The Problem: Mining Waste
This is what the mining waste piles look like close up. This photo is the upper pile, and here is the lower.
The upper pile is bisected by Leona reek, so in many ways, the upper pile is actually two piles separated by the creek.
As you can see, nothing grows on the mining waste, and for good reason. It contains high amounts of sulfur, which means this neighbor doesn’t have a problem with weeds.
Unfortunately, it also means trouble for the creek.

7. The Problem : Acid Mine Drainage
The trouble is caused when the sulfur in the mining waste combines with water, from Leona creek or from rain.
To explain why I took this photo of a rock next to the creek at Leona Street. The white and yellow stuff growing on the rock is not moss or lichen, it’s sulfur, specifically sulfur-salt. This is similar to table salt, but it contains sulfur. Like table salt, it dissolves easily in water.
I brought in some of these salts that I scraped off of the upper mining waste piles, and I’d like to show you what happens when I put some in water – DEMONSTRATION with sulfate-salts, water and pH strips… end with” the water has been turned into acid” –
* This is exactly what’s happening to Leona Creek. We’ve measured the pH in the creek as low as 1.5. That is more acidic than lemon juice, but less than battery acid. Most of the time, in the dry season it is not as bad, it’s around 4, the pH of vinegar.
* So, the creek is becoming acidified. This is known as Acid Mine Drainage. You can see that the metal trash gate has completely corroded through in this photo, and that the creek is orange because the acid causes rusty iron in the water and creek bed.

8. : It’s Toxic to Wildlife 10 to 10,000 x levels toxic to wildlife
The Problem
: It’s Toxic to Wildlife
Leona Creek:
Not just ugly…
Mercury
Cadmium
Copper
Lead
Arsenic
The problem isn’t just that the creek is ugly… acid mine drainage causes the creek to contain mercury, cadmium, copper, lead, and arsenic.
* all at levels that are toxic to wildlife when ingested. Fortunately, Leona Creek water is not used by humans for drinking water, and there is no other pathway for toxicity to people, because you have water from your tap to drink.
* Wildlife don’t have that option, they need this creek but can’t utilize it because these metals are
* 10 to 10,000 times levels that are known to be toxic to wildlife. Most critters are probably smart enough not to drink this stuff, but still this site is a dead zone in an otherwise beautiful and high functioning oak woodland like this city is named after.
10 to 10,000 x levels toxic to wildlife
(no pathway to humans)

9. The Goals, Actions, & Actors
Project Goals
Agencies Involved
Cleanup mine site, eliminate acid mine drainage
Cleanup Leona Creek
Minimize impacts
Disturbance of neighbors (dust, noise, traffic)
Tree removal
Wildlife
Water Board
Required and oversees cleanup, design, stream habitat protection
City of Oakland
Permits & environmental review (CEQA)
US Army Corps Engineers
Stream protection
Ca Dept. Fish &Wildlife
Endangered species & stream protection
The goals of the project are to eliminate acid mine drainage, and cleanup and stabilize the mine site and the creek. We need to do this in a manner that minimizes impacts, Phil & Darin will discuss this further in a minute.
* We at the Water Board are the drivers of the project. We required the cleanup from the folks who are officially responsible, which are the current and past land owners as the mine operators are no longer living.
They’ve put together a team of experts, including geologists, engineers, biologists, and ecologists, who have come up with a design. That design is currently being reviewed by all of these government agencies, in a process known as CEQA (Ca Env Quality Act). It mandates that major construction projects be reviewed for potential impacts. Permits are issued once these impacts have been eliminated or minimized to the extent possible.
Thus far, all of these government agencies are on board with the concept of the design. The current phase is to make adjustments in order to minimize impacts to the environment and to you and obtain permits.

10. Leona Heights Sulfur Mine & Creek Cleanup10
Let’s discuss that design. I am going to give you the general version, and if you have questions about specific design elements, at the end of our presentation we can have the design team respond.
The Solution

11. Current Condition Mining Waste Natural Hillside
In order to describe how the problem will be fixed, I first need to expand on the problem a bit.
This cartoon is a cross section of the hillside at the site. So this is as if you could cut hill in to quarters and look at one quarter from the side.
The brownish colored triangle is the natural hillside. The yellow blob is the mining waste piled on top of the hillside, and this blue bit is Leona Creek.
Does everyone understand what they are looking at? (if not, demonstrate by cutting one of the refreshments into quarters, if necessary).
*When it rains, runoff flows over the mining waste and into the creek. (speak slowly here)
* The sulfur in the mining waste combines with the water and turns it into sulfuric acid, turning the water orange and toxic.
*This acidifies the creek.
Mining Waste
Natural Hillside

12. The Solution: Isolate Mining Waste
The key then for the cleanup is to isolate the mining waste from water.
* Therefore, obviously, the mining waste will be removed from the creek.
Then, the waste piles will be isolated from the rain. Here’s how:
* First, they will consolidate and grade the mining waste piles to stabilize them. Currently, the piles are eroding, which is how mining waste got into the creek. This stepped or bench design is much more stable than a smooth slope, and where necessary, in steeper areas it will be reinforced.
* A thick but flexible plastic liner will then be placed on top of the stabilized mining waste as a “cap”, shown here with a black line. The liner is a water barrier, the same used for decades on the bottom of landfills to keep garbage juice out of the soil and groundwater.
* Next, the liner will be covered with top soil, and the slope will be planted with plants that are native to the area.
* After construction of this design, when it rains no acid will be produced on the mining waste piles and the water will run clear, as clean as other runoff on the hillside.
Mining Waste
Natural Hillside

13. Run-on Prevention Channel
The Results
: Green, Stable Hillsides
Present
Future
Let’s talk about the expected results.
LSA Associates, who are part of the project team I mentioned earlier, put together some wonderful simulations to approximate what the site will look like when construction is complete. Judy can you stand up and wave. From LSA. The next few slides will be a series before photos and after simulations.
This photo shows the upper pile in its current state facing southeast. It’s bisected by Leona Creek here. Behind these trees is one part, and the other is here. Though it is surrounded by trees, nothing grows on the mining waste.
* After the cleanup it will look more like this, green, stable hillside.
* I just want to point out that this is not the creek, this is a runon prevention ditch. It will capture rainwater from here, to prevent high flows from eroding this capped hillside. Will allow vegetation to establish
Run-on Prevention Channel
Images courtesy of LSA Associates and Andrew McNichol

14. The Results: : Expanded Cul-de-sac on McDonell
Present
Future
Run-on Prevention Channels
This is a similar view of the upper pile, but stepping back a few hundred feet. This is McDonnell and this car is parked in the cul-de-sac which
* will be expanded. This will improve turn around time for emergency vehicles.
* And again, these are run-on prevention channels.
Images courtesy of LSA Associates and Andrew McNichol

15. The Results: Green, Stable Hillsides
Present
Future
Another before photo, this is standing on top of the lower pile, looking down towards Leona Street, which is about here.
*And the simulation of post construction. Again, a stable hillside that will look similar to surrounding hillsides, green in the winter, probably brown in the summer and fall.
You can see Leona Creek here.
Images courtesy of LSA Associates and Andrew McNichol

16. The Results :Clean, Stable Creek Present Future Skelly and Loy Inc.
Finally, lets look at expected results for the creek. Currently its orange, ugly, and toxic. After construction, Leona Creek will look a little more like this
* This photo illustrates the step-pool design that will be used, though it will be much steeper because the hillside is naturally very steep.
Of course, the main points here are that the creek will be clean and stable, no more orange.
In short, the site will be safer, more functional for you and for wildlife, and it will be much prettier.
Skelly and Loy Inc.

17. Leona Heights Sulfur Mine & Creek Cleanup17
As I’ve mentioned, we are doing our best to ensure that you are inconvenienced as little as possible during the construction of this project, and we are also working to minimize impacts on the environment.
Phil & Darin Ranalletti are going to take over now to discuss the potential temporary impacts we’ve already considered and how they’ve been addressed.
We would like your help in identifying how you might be affected, so after that, we will ask for your feedback on anything we’ve missed, and take any questions you might have.
Phil …
Construction Management
Phil Goalwin, PG
E2C Remediation

18. Construction Management18
Staging Areas
Access Route
Logistics of Using McDonell Ave
Dust Control
Noise Control
Construction Days/Hours
Project Duration

19. Staging Areas Primary Staging Area Materials Staging Area
McDonell Cul-De-Sac and Site Entrance
Materials Staging Area
Leona Lodge Overflow Parking Lot

20. Haul Route And Staging Areas

21. Access Route McDonell Ave. vs. Fire Road Why not Fire Road?
Segments with Steep grades (up to 15%)
180 degree Switchbacks
Appr0ximately 3.0 miles roundtrip
Shuts down trail for 5 months
Larger air emissions
Habitat for Alameda whip snake
Biological mitigation/Vernal Pools
Only emergency access
Need improvements to use
Still need to cross and use McDonell Ave

22. Fire Road

23. Access Route McDonell Ave. vs. Fire Road Why McDonell Ave?
Right at the primary staging area
Appr0ximately 0.6 miles from materials staging area
Paved road with gentle slope
Less air emissions
No biological mitigation
Do not need improvements to use
Reduced environmental impacts

24. McDonell Use Logistics
5 Materials Staging Events
Each Event lasts 5 days (Monday~Friday)
Flagmen with radios to implement traffic control
Small Haul Trucks (with payload <10 tons)
Truck speeds to be kept under 10 mph
Residents will be given priority to truck traffic

25. Dust Control
Limited water spray to soils graded, excavated, truck loaded., etc.
Amount to control dust, but not cause runoff
Cover soil stockpiles with weighted plastic sheeting
Vehicles <5mph
Minimize material drop heights during unloading

26. Noise Control Smaller Equipment
Noise Reduction Blankets on Perimeter Fence
Noise Reduction Blankets on Temporary Fence
No Construction Work at night, on weekends or holidays

27. Construction Days/Hours
Weekdays only (Monday-Friday)
Working Hours - In Accordance With City Of Oakland Conditions Of Approval
No Holidays

28. Project Duration Construction Start Construction Completion
Early to Mid May 2014
Construction Completion
September 30, 2014

29. Leona Heights Sulfur Mine & Creek Cleanup29
Permitting
Darin Ranelletti, Planner
City of Oakland

30. City of Oakland Permits
Creek Permit
For clean-up work in creek
Tree Removal Permit
To remove and replace trees impacted by project
Grading Permit
To ensure stable slopes
Street Permit
For work in McDonall Avenue cul-de-sac

31. Environmental Review (CEQA)
Environmental analysis to include topics such as:
Aesthetics
Air Quality
Biological
Cultural
Geology
Hydrology
Noise
Traffic
CEQA document = Mitigate Negative Declaration
All impacts reduced to less-than-significant levels

32. Timeline Nov 2013: Permit applications submitted to City
Feb 2014: Community meeting
Mar 2014: Public notices sent out
Starts official 30-day public review period
May 2014: Permits issued
May 2014: Project starts
Sept 2014: Project complete

33. Next Steps Public notices sent out (March)
Environmental document available on City’s website and in City offices
30-day public review period
Permits issued

34. Thank you
Questions or comments?