Desires for metals come and go, but mining waste has a way of sticking around for a while.
The Blue Ledge Mine up above the Applegate Valley has not produced copper or zinc for close to a century now. But the extraction of those metals left a mess behind, one the federal government declared a Superfund cleanup site in 2011.
Since it's on federal land on the California side of the Siskiyous, the Forest Service, EPA, and California Department of Public Health have all been involved in cleanup efforts. CDPH just put out a health assessment, open for public comment until September 21st.
Jen Sanborn, District Ranger for the Siskiyou Mountains Ranger District, visits to talk about the assessment and the next steps, with Russ Bartlett from CDPH and Eric Canteenwala from EPA.