Old mine waste threatens yellowstone's soda butte creek

An old mine waste threatens Yellowstone's Soda Butte Creek, creating serious damage to the ecosystem. From 1933 to 1953, the McLaren Gold Mining Company deposited from 150,000 to 370,000 cubic yards of waste in the floodplain just below Soda Butte Creek's headwaters. In 1969 the Bear Creek Mining Company, a subsidiary of Kennecott Copper Corporation, bought the property and rehabilitated the McLaren tailings deposit by diverting Soda Butte Creek to the north edge of the tailings and covering them with soil. In March 1990, an evaluation of the work was prepared for the EPA. Based on their findings, investigators concluded that the tailings dam is only marginally stable under static conditions, and is potentially unstable during dynamic events, such as heavy spring floods. Although the tailings have been leveled and capped and the creek relocated around the tailings, the old creek channels probably still contribute flow to Soda Butte Creek directly through the tailings dam.