Project Details

In August 2016, dam renovation work at Tibble Fork Reservoir released tons of contaminated sediment downstream into American Fork Canyon. The toxic black sludge buried American Fork Creek, a popular Wasatch Front recreation destination, killing fish and rendering the stream unfit for human contact for several miles.

This disastrous spill was an acute illustration of a chronic problem: mining activity in American Fork Canyon ended last century, but the ongoing impacts to water quality have continued, largely unabated, to the present day. The historical mine operations left behind tailings (processed ore) and waste rock piles containing high levels of heavy metals that continue to leach into surface flows and groundwater along Mary Ellen Gulch.  A 2002 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) study investigated soil and water quality at 98 and 14 sites, respectively, throughout the drainage, and initial mitigation actions in Mary Ellen Gulch were performed at the Live Yankee Mine portal in 2008, focusing on the draining adit.  However, the tailings and waste rock piles quantified in the 2002 EPA report have not been addressed, even though results showed significant increases in metals concentrations downstream from several sites.  A previous USGS study in 1999/2000 published similar findings, attributing elevated levels of Aluminum, Zinc and Copper to surface and groundwater loading areas in Mary Ellen Gulch.
 
The proposed project will utilize the results from both the EPA and USGS studies to develop a streamlined Sampling and Analysis Plan (SAP).  The new SAP will focus on historic sites that exhibited elevated metals concentrations, and include new sites identified during an October 2016 site visit.  The Plan will prioritize and rank sites by contamination levels and potential clean-up effectiveness, and will direct future reclamation work and water quality improvement projects in Mary Ellen Gulch.

Provide evidence about the nature of the problem and the need to address it. Identify the significance of the problem using a variety of data sources. For example, if a habitat restoration project is being proposed to benefit greater sage-grouse, describe the existing plant community characteristics that limit habitat value for greater sage-grouse and identify the changes needed for habitat improvement.

Provide an overall goal for the project and then provide clear, specific and measurable objectives (outcomes) to be accomplished by the proposed actions. If possible, tie to one or more of the public benefits UWRI is providing.

LOCATION: Justify the proposed location of this project over other areas, include publicly scrutinized planning/recovery documents that list this area as a priority, remote sensing modeling that show this area is a good candidate for restoration, wildlife migration information and other data that help justify this project's location.

TIMING: Justify why this project should be implemented at this time. For example, Is the project area at risk of crossing an ecological or other threshold wherein future restoration would become more difficult, cost prohibitive, or even impossible.

The proposed project addresses the following Management Plan goals and objectives:
Plan: Range-wide Conservation Agreement and Strategy for Bonneville Cutthroat Trout
Goal: Ensure the long-term existence of Bonneville cutthroat trout (BCT) within its historical range
Objectives: 
1. Manage for 191 Conservation Populations of BCT
a. establish or maintain a minimum of 186 conservation populations inhabiting 1,593 stream miles
2. Eliminate the threats to BCT that warrant listing as a sensitive species by state and federal agencies and may warrant listing under the Endangered Species Act
a. eliminate or reduce threats that cause present or potential destruction, modification or curtailment of habitat
e. eliminate or reduce impacts associated with threats caused by natural or human induced factors
Explanation: American Fork Creek supports one of the 191 conservation populations referenced in the plan, and the proposed project to improve degraded water quality in Mary Ellen Gulch and American Fork Creek is consistent with the plan objective of maintaining this conservation population and eliminating natural and anthropogenic (e.g. abandoned mine contamination) threats to populations and/or habitat.

List management plans where this project will address an objective or strategy in the plan. Describe how the project area overlaps the objective or strategy in the plan and the relevance of the project to the successful implementation of those plans. It is best to provide this information in a list format with the description immediately following the plan objective or strategy.

If applicable, detail how the proposed project will significantly reduce the risk of fuel loading and/or continuity of hazardous fuels including the use of fire-wise species in re-seeding operations. Describe the value of any features being protected by reducing the risk of fire. Values may include; communities at risk, permanent infrastructure, municipal watersheds, campgrounds, critical wildlife habitat, etc. Include the size of the area where fuels are being reduced and the distance from the feature(s) at risk.

Describe how the project has the potential to improve water quality and/or increase water quantity, both over the short and long term. Address run-off, erosion, soil infiltration, and flooding, if applicable.

Description of efforts, both completed and planned, to bring the proposed action into compliance with any and all cultural resource, NEPA, ESA, etc. requirements. If compliance is not required enter "not applicable" and explain why not it is not required.

As indicated in the previous section, current standard operating procedures (SOPs) and EPA Methods will be followed throughout the project.  Trout Unlimited and Snowbird staff will coordinate and execute sampling efforts along with project partners.  X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) sampling of soils will be performed in conjunction with U.S. Geological Survey staff in the field at 30 locations within the 15 sites.  Approximately 10% of field sites will then be gathered and sent to a lab for verification using EPA Method 200.7.  ALS Environmental Labs, or an equivalent, will be used throughout the project for the aforementioned soil samples, as well as water quality analyses associated with the 15 sites.  Dissolved metals, total metals, nitrates, and anions/alkalinity will be quantified as part of the water quality analyses, follow applicable EPA methodology.  XRF and field parameters will be taken on-site by TU and project partners, while remaining samples will all be sent to ALS Environmental labs for analysis.

Describe the actions, activities, tasks to be implemented as part of the proposed project; how these activities will be carried out, equipment to be used, when, and by whom.

Describe plans to monitor for project success and achievement of stated objectives. Include details on type of monitoring (vegetation, wildlife, etc.), schedule, assignments and how the results of these monitoring efforts will be reported and/or uploaded to this project page. If needed, upload detailed plans in the "attachments" section.

Trout Unlimited and its main private partner, Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort have made concerted efforts to involve several local, state, and federal partners in the project planning process.  Throughout this project, and future phases, federal agency partners include the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  This past October 2016, the EPA in partnership with the Utah Department of Environmental Quality (UDEQ), stated that it intended to initiate a Preliminary Assessment (PA) of historic mining sites in the American Fork Canyon.  The scope of this PA includes Mary Ellen Gulch and surrounding sites.  TU and Snowbird have been in discussions with EPA to provide additional information and data through this proposed study that will better quantify the Mary Ellen Gulch drainage.  TU and Snowbird will work closely with these aforementioned federal partners throughout this project and future phases.  State partners on the project include UDEQ, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, and the Division of Oil, Gas and Mining (DOGM) to utilize expertise in the surrounding area. ANY OTHER LOCAL PARTNERS?

List any and all partners (agencies, organizations, NGO's, private landowners) that support the proposal and/or have been contacted and included in the planning and design of the proposed project. Describe efforts to gather input and include these agencies, landowners, permitees, sportsman groups, researchers, etc. that may be interested/affected by the proposed project. Partners do not have to provide funding or in-kind services to a project to be listed.

Detail future methods or techniques (including administrative actions) that will be implemented to help in accomplishing the stated objectives and to insure the long term success/stability of the proposed project. This may include: post-treatment grazing rest and/or management plans/changes, wildlife herd/species management plan changes, ranch plans, conservation easements or other permanent protection plans, resource management plans, forest plans, etc.

Potential for the proposed action to improve quality or quantity of sustainable uses such as grazing, timber harvest, biomass utilization, recreation, etc. Grazing improvements may include actions to improve forage availability and/or distribution of livestock.