An Edu-tainment event about People and Beavers Rebuilding Watershed Resilience …Naturally!
METHOW BEAVER PROJECT & OKANOGAN HIGHLANDS ALLIANCE are pleased to invite you to join special guests Julie Vanderwal, Ken Bevis, Sandy Vaughn & Sarah Koenigsberg for an evening of music, engagement, joy & learning about people & beavers teaming up for watershed restoration!
On February 7, 2020, Jim Hepler, of the Beers Laboratory at WSU’s Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center, joined us to share his extensive knowledge (and humor) of native stink bugs and their life history. He gave an enlightening overview of the diversity of stink bugs found in eastern Washington, and expounded on the challenges and rewards, and all that is known and unknown about these creatures. Jim’s palpable interest was contagious, sparking the curiosity of our local community.
Fun facts: -Stink bugs can drill through nut husks to feast on the nutrient-rich innards -Pesticides are futile in fighting stink bugs since they are constantly on the move into and out of orchards -Stink bugs have very specific relationships with other insects who will lay their eggs inside stink bug eggs or drill through adults’ exoskeletons to feast -Stink bugs are very capable of killing themselves with their own noxious fumes!
Rough stink bug (Brochymena species)
Photo by Jen Weddle
Highland Wonders presentations feature the natural history of the Okanogan Highlands and surrounding areas. OHA provides these presentations on the first Friday of the month from November through April. These presentations, which start at 6:30 pm, are free to the public (donations are welcome), and clock hours are available for educators. The events take place at the Tonasket Community Cultural Center, and dinner is available before the presentations.
Consperse stink bug (Euschistus conspersus) on a bitterbrush plant (Purshia tridentata, a favored host). Photo by Jim Hepler.
On January 3, 2020, Dana Visalli kicked off the new year with “Big History: the evolutionary story of the Earth and the life on it, in one hour.” It was once thought that the Earth was static and unchanging, but we now know the opposite is true. Both the Earth and the life on it are dynamic and ever-changing. This is the scientific story of evolution; it borders on the spiritual, and is meaningful to our own lives.
In his hour (plus a few extra minutes), Dana wove together concepts from various scientific fields to make sense of humans’ relationship to other species, to each other, and to our world. Threaded throughout was the hopeful, thought-provoking message that we can do better, and that our intellect is capable of bringing us through the challenges facing the world today.
We are excited to share our 10th year of educational programs with an exciting lineup of topics and speakers! We hope to see you this winter – the first Friday of November, January, February, March and April. New this season: continuing education clock hours are available to educators!
Dinner benefitting the CCC starts at 5:15 pm – $9 for adults; Presentation starts at 6:30 pm – free to all
On Friday, November 1, John Crandall shared “Why Floodplains Matter and what we are doing locally to restore them,” with a crowd of 70 at the Community Cultural Center of Tonasket. For decades, floodplains and wetlands were viewed as “wasted” space and they have been diked, filled, drained, mined, and otherwise altered to make room for increased human activity. These activities disconnect floodplains from adjacent streams, degrading habitat and leaving wildlife, fish, and water to deteriorate. Why do these floodplains matter — what services do they provide, not only for fish and wildlife, but for humans too? What can we do to bring them back into a healthy condition? John Crandall returned to the Highland Wonders series to help answer these questions and to share about a variety of projects happening in Okanogan County that are aimed at restoring floodplain processes and making our aquatic ecosystems healthier — from the quality and quantity of our water to the abundance of our fish and wildlife.
John shared videos and photos depicting the ways that floodplains interact with their waterways, and how spring flooding depends on the shape and structure of the surrounding landscape. Floodplains are crucial to the lifecycle of many fish, who time the hatching of their young to coincide with spring floods because of the protection, food, and downstream push that floodplains and high water provide to young fish. In many areas, human activity (such as road building) has disrupted or changed the structure of the floodplains, reducing their size and cutting fish off from their traditional rearing grounds and/or travel corridors. Projects throughout Okanogan County are working to restore floodplain functionality, to reconnect streams and rivers with their floodplains and provide ways for fish to access flooded areas.
The Board of Directors of Okanogan Highlands Alliance (OHA) is happy to announce their decision to hire Jennifer (Jen) Weddle and Sarah Kliegman, as Co-Directors to lead the community-based nonprofit. Jen, a former member of the OHA Board of Directors, has a BA in Biology-Environmental Studies and teaches at the Outreach Program at Tonasket School District. Sarah, who volunteered with OHA from an early age and grew up in the Okanogan Highlands, recently returned to the Okanogan after working as a chemistry professor at the Claremont Colleges. Sharing the position will enable each of them to balance work and family life while providing OHA with a unique blend of experience and expertise.
Sarah
Jen
“We are happy to welcome such highly qualified professionals to lead OHA into the future,” stated George Thornton, OHA’s Board President. “Their complementary skills and experience will be a great asset to the organization.”
After more than 25 years of service, David Kliegman, OHA’s founding ED, notified the Board in January that he would like to retire. Since that time, the Board has been working on transition planning.
“It has been an honor to serve as the spearhead for this community effort to use science and the law to stop the open-pit mine that was proposed on Buckhorn Mountain and to begin OHA’s successful restoration and education programs,” stated the retiring ED. “I will continue to track the mine’s efforts to clean up the pollution but look forward to spending more time with my family and carving wood.
In 2007, OHA settled its appeal of the underground mine in hopes that increased cooperation would evolve into greater protection of the environment, but the company’s efforts have fallen short of what is needed to stem the flow of pollutants from the site.
“Since the mining company has been unable to control the pollution from their mine, the new directors will have our work cut out for us,” states Sarah Kliegman, OHA’s new Co-Director. “We will continue the effort to try to get [the WA Department of] Ecology to hold the mine accountable for its pollution.”
“We look forward to further developing OHA’s robust restoration and public education programs which repair damaged wetlands and bring experts in natural history to share the wonders in Tonasket and the Highlands,” states Jennifer Weddle, OHA’s other new Co-Director. “OHA’s leadership will help to improve and better understand the ecology of the Okanogan Highlands.”
The Okanogan Highlands Alliance is a non-profit organization that works to educate the public about watershed issues, including the environmental threats of large-scale mining. For more information go to okanoganhighlands.org
According to the mine’s original Adaptive Management Plan (AMP), the water quality problems at the mine should trigger specific actions. The steps are clearly outlined, requiring the company to: notify Ecology, identify the source of the contaminants and the extent of the plume, and develop a plan to remediate the problem. Over the years, various levels of investigation have provided useful data to help in the search for the contaminant flow path. Likely culprits have been identified, such as surface water from mine facilities, development rock stockpiles, and the underground mine workings. Collecting monitoring data in the appropriate locations, such as below the development rock stockpile, is critical to understanding the source of the water quality problems.
Phases of Adaptive Management
Adaptive Management details include an action threshold and indicate who would take what action. The specific plans have three phases:
Phase I (early action) based on 50% of predicted impact: Kinross would review data and determine the likelihood predicted impacts would be exceeded. If they think there would be a potential for greater impacts they would inform the agency in their annual report. Take voluntary action and continue monitoring. The agency would take no action.
Phase II (planning) based on 80% of predicted impact: If Kinross decides monitoring suggests impacts would exceed predictions, they would then develop a Contingency Plan. The agency would meet with Kinross and develop a plan.
Phase III based on 100% of predicted impact: Kinross would implement Contingency Plan. The agency would oversee contingency actions.
Below are examples from the Adaptive Management Plan, stating what actions will be taken if water quality data show parameters exceeding background values. Although levels have exceeded background since mining began, these adaptive management steps have not been followed.
AMP excerpt regarding water quality exceeding background levels (click to enlarge)
AMP excerpt regarding the capture zone (click to enlarge)
Ongoing AMP Issues
Kettle River Tailings Facility
There was a trend of increasing concentrations of nitrate, sulfate, and TDS in surface water; this should require Adaptive Management Plan action.
Issues with the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement AMP
One of the major flaws in Ecology’s Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) was its reliance on adaptive management or more accurately a plan that is titled adaptive management but in reality has poor mechanism to adapt to changing situations. It would be more accurately be characterized as a monitoring plan. Adaptive management should be an active systematic process for continually improving management policies and practices by sequential learning from the outcomes of operational programs. It should be designed to experimentally compare selective policies or practices by evaluating alternative hypotheses. Ecology and Kinross want to redefine adaptive management and use it as a basis for the entire mine plan.
To put this plan in perspective, Ecology relied on this adaptive management plan for most aspects of the mine proposal including:
Dewatering impacts to seeps and springs
Dewatering and water supply impacts to steamflow
Fine sediment deposition and water quality changes to Marias Creek from the mine access road
Aquatic habitat improvements to mitigate for streamflow impacts from mine dewatering
Development rock management
Water treatment plant operations
Upland habitat protection, enhancement and management
Wildlife management along haul road
Kettle river tailings impoundment
The AMP was relied on to evaluate the monitoring data and compare it to what is predicted in the SEIS and to evaluate compliance to the requirements of various permits including:
The NPDES for the collection, treatment and discharge of mine water,
The water rights for the use of surface water and ground water supply and mitigation,
The construction and operational stormwater,
The hydraulic permit approval for the construction and maintenance new culverts and stream restoration,
The permits on National Forest Land,
The waste discharge and Dam Safety for the tailings impoundment
Water Rights were historically OHA’s main vehicle for protecting surface water. Ecology took the position that since Washington State Water Law requires that water be put to beneficial use in order to get a water right, that if water is not being put to beneficial use, a water right is not required. This absurd interpretation of water law created a loophole that allowed Kinross to dewater Buckhorn Mountain and dump the water.
OHA’s Initial Concerns in the Mine’s Planning:
The dewatering of Buckhorn Mountain would be the most damaging aspects of the proposed mine. Ecology approved for Kinross to extract all the water from Buckhorn Mountain’s heart of gold. In order to mine, people, fish, and wildlife would be deprived of clean water. In some creeks, clean water would be replaced with treated water that is supposed to meet minimum standards. In other creeks, no replacement is planned. Mine shafts would change the way water flows from Buckhorn Mountain, affecting people dependent on that water. It would take 15-40 years to refill the aquifer inside Buckhorn Mountain. During that time, the creeks, springs, and seeps critical for healthy fish and wildlife would be deprived of water.
Water Rights for the Buckhorn Mine proposal approved by Ecology:
G4-34904 (Mine Dewatering). This application approved November 21, 2007 for mining, industrial and flow augmentation for a maximum instantaneous beneficial use of 100 gpm with a total proposed annual withdrawal of 12.6 acre-feet per year, derived from groundwater associated with mine dewatering and operations. This water would be collected from sumps within the mine and from dewatering wells.
G4-34905 (Domestic). This application approved October 25, 2007 for dust control, mining, and domestic use for site employees from a single well for a groundwater withdrawal with a proposed of 5 gpm and 5.2 acre-ft/yr.
S4-34999 (Storm Water). This application approved October 24, 2007 for a surface water diversion for industrial and mining use to augment mine operational needs not met by the quantities requested under Application No. G4-34905, for 50 gallons per minute (gpm) (0.111 cfs). This water would come from collection of storm water drainage from ore and development rock stockpiles.
R4-35093 (Reservoir). This application approved October 24, 2007 permits a storage facility (surge pond) for water derived from mine dewatering and storm water.
CG-CCV1-4P200 (Newman). This change application, approved on September 26, 2006, changes the purpose, place, and time of use of a certificated seasonal irrigation water right for two groundwater wells to use in year-round dust control and seasonal mitigation of mining impacts on stream flows. The total certificated quantities for this right are 300 gpm and 200 acre-ft/yr.
G4-35084 (Lost Creek Ranch). This application approved November 21, 2007 for instream flow mitigation for a maximum of 125 gpm from one well in the Myers Creek watershed.
CS4-ADJ47P45 (Leslie Trust). This change application approved October 19, 2007 changes an existing water right from agricultural use to instream flow mitigation use during mining and during recovery of water levels associated with cessation of mine dewatering. for up to 0.156 cfs and 29.9 acre-ft/yr. Use would revert back to agricultural at the end of mitigation.
CS4-ADJ47P36 (Thorp Trust). This change application approved October 19, 2007 is a permanent change in use from stock watering to instream flow mitigation for 3 gpm.
CG3-29653P (K2 Mining). This change application, approved on September 28, 2006, changes the place of use from the K2 Mine to the proposed backfill borrow site in Ferry County. The total permitted quantities for this Water Right Permit are 50 gpm and 80 acre-ft/yr.
Problems with the water rights Ecology issued:
There is an unreasonable level of uncertainty regarding the hydrogeologic modeling of the impacts of mine dewatering and the resulting streamflow depletion.
Baseflow calculations of streamflows are questionable.
Aquifer properties where stream flow reductions would take place are scarce. The modeling inputs are based on untested assumptions of aquifer behavior.
Ecology fails to consider the cumulative impacts of granting Kinross water rights on local water supply and downstream water resources.
Granting water rights to Kinross would be inconsistent with past actions by Ecology.
The mitigation offered by Kinross does not come close to offsetting the harm to senior water right users and the public interest.
The speculative nature of the mitigation proposed does not meet the requirements that new water rights not impair existing rights and that new rights not be detrimental to the public welfare.
The mitigation offered by Kinross is off-site and out-of-kind, primarily enhancement of downstream wetlands and streams instead of a long-term commitment to on-site restoration.
No reliable mitigation is being offered for stream depletion during the post-mining refilling of the Buckhorn aquifer.
There is too much uncertainty that the mitigation plan would adequately protect existing rights and instream flows from harm.
Below are details of the agreement from the April 2008 negotiations between OHA and Crown/Kinross, whereby an underground mine would proceed on Buckhorn Mountain with additional monitoring and stream augmentation.
Key Monitoring Provisions:
Crown/Kinross will hire an independent third party to do their monitoring and reporting.
Crown will provide funds for OHA to hire its own independent monitoring company to do annual audits, quarterly visits, and random sampling and testing to analyze Crown’s third-party work.
Crown will increase water quality monitoring on the west slope of Buckhorn Mountain.
Crown will increase monitoring for sediment during spring runoff.
Crown will lower the threshold for corrective action if sedimentation increases in Marias Creek.
Crown will collect baseline water quality and quantity data for residents’ wells that are reasonably close to the mine if residents have concerns.
Crown will send OHA all monitoring data.
OHA will be permitted access to the mine site.
Crown and OHA will attend an annual meeting to discuss monitoring results.
Key Mitigation Provisions:
As long as they are operating the dewatering wells, Crown will run water over to the headwaters of Gold and Bolster creeks to maintain seasonal baseflow.
After closure of the mine Crown, will retire 25 acres of the Lost Creek Ranch irrigation water (15 acres more than the agencies required). This would add water to Myers Creek and Bolster alluvial fan groundwater to replace the predicted permanent reduction caused by mining.
Crown agreed to permanent conservation easements of their mitigation sites including the reclaimed mine site and opening them for public access.
Crown will also fund a significant amount of additional mitigation sites throughout the area.
Crown will fix problems with residents’ wells that are caused by mining activity.
Crown will make a good faith effort to minimize truck hauling on weekends.
Pacific Groundwater Group created a 3D visualization video for OHA as part of and in support of OHA’s comments on the draft NPDES Permit renewal in 2013. It begins with a visualization of the Buckhorn Mine underground workings with relevant faults and monitoring wells. It transitions to show: first the 2006 FSEIS capture zone, then the expansion of the capture zone proposed in the Draft NPDES, and then OHA’s proposed capture zone as seen from the south looking north. OHA’s proposed capture zone consists of the Draft NPDES depiction in the north, south and west and with the 2006 FSEIS depicted on the east side. The visualization then transitions to a view looking southwest from northeast of Buckhorn Mountain, and repeats display of the same sequence of capture zones.
About the Project:
Visualizing how groundwater in Buckhorn Mountain interacts with the mine, geologic faults, and dewatering wells is coming closer to reality with OHA’s 3D Visualization Project, which will increase everyone’s understanding of how water moves underground. At this point, we have created a number of animations circling a transparent depiction of Buckhorn Mountain. The color-coded animations include various dewatering and monitoring wells and piezometers in cross sections of interest, with see-through portrayal of the company’s projected faults and underground mine workings. The groundwater levels at key seasons will be added to assist in an analysis of how the dewatering wells are influencing groundwater flow.
Over the years of the mine, OHA has made numerous recommendations to the company that they analyze the actual groundwater monitoring data instead of relying on predictive models, which have not been effective at predicting actual conditions. Early in 2013, OHA initiated a 3D mapping project, which developed into the 3D visualization. OHA is hopeful that this will give everyone another tool to analyze the monitoring data and hopefully see where the gaps are in understanding groundwater flow paths. The end goal is to stop contaminants from escaping the mine.
We are excited to share our 10th year of educational programs with an exciting lineup of topics and speakers! We hope to see you this winter – the first Friday of November, January, February, March and April. New this season: continuing education clock hours are available to educators!
