Silver Bow Creek: A History of Use, Abuse and Reuse Presented By: Montana Natural Resource Damage Program

UP DOWN Continental Fault Silver Bow Watershed Basic Geology Boulder Batholith: A massive granite outcrop caused by igneous uplifting that defines the Butte geology and mining history Decompostion and Erosion, notably via the Continental Fault, continue to define the upper Summit Valley Cooling fractures in the granite were filled by mineralized solutions, enriching the ore body of “The Richest Hill on Earth” with gold, silver, copper and other precious metals

American Indian Historic Use Historic use by Salish, Kootenai and Flathead tribes for seasonal hunting and fishing Passage route for Nez Perce and Blackfeet tribes Chippewa and Cree occupation of mining camp during late 1880s/early 1900s Today, there are 33 tribal affiliations make up the Native American population in Butte

Pay Gold! Placer Mining Begins on Silver Bow Creek, circa 1860s Barker & Party are generally credited with staking the first claim on Silver Bow Creek in 1864 First mills erected on Silver Bow Creek to treat primarily gold and silver ores in Underground quartz mining for silver had supplanted the gold placer operations as the major method by the mid 1870s

“The Silver Bow” “…Just below the butte the creek made a wide bend to the north and along the center of the valley led an Indian trail. “It looks like a silver bow,” said one of the party…”A silver bow it is,” said “Seven-Up Pete” Slater, “and that is what we will call this creek and district.” Oct. 21, 1906, The Anaconda Standard

An Industrial Sewer By the turn of the 20 th century, there were at least a dozen concentrators, smelters and precipitation plants on Silver Bow Creek William A. Clark’s Colorado Smelter and Butte Reduction Works were the largest The City of Butte also had begun discharge of its sewage to the creek during the 1870s Two of the common nicknames by residents: “Copper Creek” and “Shit Creek,” both for obvious reasons

The 1908 Flood Largest flood on record hit the Clark Fork in 1908 Flood carried millions of cubic yards of contaminated tailings and mining wastes downstream, most stopping at the Milltown Dam in Bonner This single flood is the pathway by which most mining wastes were spread throughout the Clark Fork Basin

A Legacy of Contamination First lawsuit filed against Anaconda Co. for water-borne environmental damages in 1903, with many more to follow Smelting in Anaconda begins in 1880s; the “big stack” up and running by 1902 First of the Warm Springs Ponds constructed in the to minimize widespread floodplain contamination of the Upper Clark Fork ARCO buys Anaconda Co. in 1977; shuts down Washoe Smelter in : Cleanup and investigations begin; State of Montana files natural resource damage lawsuit in 1983

Cleaning Silver Bow Creek State and ARCO settle a portion of the lawsuit in 1998; $85 million allocated for Silver Bow Creek cleanup 1999 Clean up of Silver Bow Creek begins; 23 miles of contaminated tailings in the floodplain totaling nearly 5 million cubic yards To date, 65% of tailings have been removed; tentative completion of remediation and partial restoration is 2011.

Major Milestones Removal of Colorado Tailings in Lower Area One in 1999 Removal of Colorado Tailings in Lower Area One in 1999 Completion of first reach of Silver Bow Creek (5 miles) in 2005 Completion of first reach of Silver Bow Creek (5 miles) in 2005 Completion of groundwater collection and treatment system for contaminated Butte shallow groundwater in 2005 Completion of groundwater collection and treatment system for contaminated Butte shallow groundwater in 2005 Removal of Ramsay Flats tailings in Removal of Ramsay Flats tailings in $9.8 million awarded to Greenway restoration project ( ) $9.8 million awarded to Greenway restoration project ( )

Pre-Remedy Silver Bow Creek 100+ years after the initial impact

Tailings Removal

Stream De-Watering

Stream Reconstruction

Revegetation Borrow Material Organic Amendment (Compost Addition) Seeding Planting

Before

During Construction

Four Years After

More Post-Construction

Post-Construction Continued…

What’s left… Miles Crossing Subarea 3: Durant Canyon Subarea 4: Near Warm Springs Ponds & Opportunity Ponds

What’s left (continued)… Restoration (Greenway trail system) Weed Control Reduce Nutrient Pollution (Sewage Discharge)

Questions?