Contaminants won't be dumped

Two months ago, Salt Lake County Mayor Nancy Workman stood on the banks of the Jordan River and decried a Kennecott Utah Copper groundwater cleanup plan that involved dumping contaminants into the stream.

Friday, Workman again stood at the river's banks, this time it was to cry victory: Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District, Kennecott's partner in the cleanup effort, has decided not to use the permit it had received from the state to discharge sulfates and selenium into the Jordan River.

"It's cold today, but it warms my heart to be here," Workman said. "This is a great day."

Jordan Valley's about-face comes after considerable criticism of the plan by people in the private and public sectors alike. Workman was joined Friday by state Rep. Brent Goodfellow, environmentalists from the Sierra Club and Salt Lake County Audubon Society, and local residents who had opposed the plan.

"I've been fighting this for 10 or 15 years," said geologist and South Jordan resident Thomas Belchak. "I prayed for a miracle, and we got one."

In addition to general pollution concerns, local wildlife advocates have worried about the impact of selenium on Great Salt Lake wetlands and waterfowl habitats. Tests in one wetlands area showed selenium to be at 4.5 parts per billion, barely under the federal limit of 4.6 parts per billion.

"And they think putting more selenium in the water won't take it over the limit?" Goodfellow said.

The dumping of the contaminants had been part of Kennecott's $104 million Environmental Protection Agency-mandated plan to clean up one of two "plumes" of contaminated groundwater covering 72 acres in the southwest area of Salt Lake County. The contaminated water, flowing down from the Oquirrh Mountains, is polluted with sulfates, acids and metals as the result of decades of Kennecott mining operations.

According to the cleanup plan, contaminants in the "Zone A" plume, underlying West Jordan, Riverton, Herriman and adjacent areas of southwest Salt Lake County and originating from the Large and Small Bingham Reservoirs below the Bingham copper pit, would be piped to the Magna tailings impoundment.

In contrast, water in the Zone B plume, beneath South Jordan, would be drawn from local wells, pumped to a Jordan Valley treatment plant and undergo "reverse osmosis" to remove the pollutants. Those pollutants would then be dumped into the Jordan River.

Jordan Valley district general manager David Ovard said that last part — the discharge into the river — will now be changed. It is uncertain where the contaminants will now be taken.

"It just shows that the process does work," Goodfellow said. "The public is heard. This is a great day and a win-win for everyone."

---

E-mail: aedwards@desnews.com