Uranium Mine

Farallon currently is providing insurance carriers with technical support in the evaluation of potential future costs for cleanup of soil, surface water, and groundwater contaminated with hazardous substances from a large-scale uranium mine on Tribal Land in north-central Washington. The inactive mine has been designated a Superfund site by EPA for cleanup of mine waste. Farallon is reviewing previous investigations to evaluate the nature and extent of hazardous substances in the environment released from mining operations, and evaluating projected cleanup costs provided by the mine operators to determine whether the costs are reasonable and necessary.  Additional technical support includes reviewing mine closure and permitting requirements to determine whether the proposed cleanup action is required by the mine permits, and evaluating industry knowledge of acid rock drainage during the early 1970s to determine whether the potential for contamination was known to the mine operators and what was done to contain the releases of contamination.