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Hecla Mining Company - Lucky Friday Mine

Administrative - Formal · FY2024 · — · Final Order With Penalty · 3603842504

Penalty
Cost recovery
Compliance action

Case

Case Number
10-2024-0027
Type
Administrative - Formal
Lead
EPA
Outcome
Final Order With Penalty
Multimedia
Self-disclosure
N

Defendants (1)

Summary

On October 16, 2024, Region 10 filed a Consent Agreement and Final Order resolving CWA violations of the NPDES Permit covering discharges from Hecla's Lucky Friday Mine facility in Mullan, Idaho. From January of 2018 through February of 2024, discharges from Lucky Friday Mine to the South Fork of Coeur d'Alene River violated lead, copper, and zinc limits (including an April 2020 sample showing zinc levels exceeded daily zinc limit by more than 42,000%) in the Clean Water Act permit around 200 times . The Mine also failed to submit BMP Plan certification and conduct e coli and Whole Effluent Toxicity monitoring. Hecla's numerous metal exceedance, including several at enormous magnitude over the permit limit, has had serious potential impacts to cold water aquatic life, including salmonid spawning, in the South Fork Coeur d'Alene River (already limited by historic heavy metals in the River). Hecla has agreed to pay a $174,300 monetary penalty and elected to implement a riparian restoration Supplemental Environmental Project (estimated to cost $299,000) upstream of the Mine on the South Fork Coeur d'Alene River to improve the habitats for fish and other aquatic animals by lowering temperatures, creating refugia and stabilizing streambanks.

Source

Authoritative
EPA ECHO
Machine
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