STRAFFORD — The Environmental Protection Agency is hosting a virtual public meeting Thursday evening to discuss the status of the long-running Elizabeth Mine Superfund site.
Two years ago officials began what they hoped would be the final phase of the $90 million cleanup, which started in 2001 when the EPA declared the former copper mine a Superfund site.
Water contaminated by metals and acid had been leaching from waste rock and tailings into streams feeding the west branch of the Ompompanoosuc River since the 150-year-old copper mine closed in 1958.
Current cleanup activities at the site include inspection of the cover system for the tailing impoundment and monitoring of surface water and groundwater. The EPA will also continue to treat the discharge from one tailing impoundment area until a passive treatment system is constructed and functioning, according to the EPA website.
The EPA says copper concentrations in the surface water of Copperas Brook have decreased by more than 90% thanks to the cleanup.
The meeting starts at 6 p.m., and information to access it can be found at www.epa.gov/superfund/elizmine. Members of the public can also call into the meeting at 1-857-299-6148, with conference ID 284493584#.