The baby robins under the deck grew up quickly. They’ve left the nest now.
I returned to the abandoned copper mine, this time with a camera.
The Elizabeth Mine Superfund site is located in Strafford and Thatford [sic], Vermont. The site contains waste rock, roast beds and mine tailings left behind after 150 years of mining activity. Mining wastes contaminated groundwater, soil and sediment with heavy metals and acid-rock drainage. Mining wastes also contaminated the adjacent West Branch of the Ompompanoosuc River, Lord Brook and two tributaries.
EPA placed the site on the National Priorities List (NPL) in 2001. In 2005, EPA stabilized the tailing pile with soil and repaired the tailing dam. These activities prevented the release of mining waste and potential catastrophic loss of life and property downstream. EPA built a water treatment system in 2008. With reuse in mind, EPA consolidated and covered the mining waste in 2012.
epa.gov
At the moment, there is no work happening at the site. People hike and bike there often. But it’s obvious that a huge amount of geotechnical activity happened there; first, to cut the mountain open, and later, to patch its dripping wounds.
