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

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

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.

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

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

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.

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.

: 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)

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.

Leona Heights Sulfur Mine & Creek Cleanup 10 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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Leona Heights Sulfur Mine & Creek Cleanup 17 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

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

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

Haul Route And Staging Areas

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

Fire Road

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thank you Questions or comments?