PHOENIX (June 25, 2024) — The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) is taking immediate remedial actions at Senator Mine to protect the Hassayampa River and ensure public safety. Senator Mine is located in Yavapai County, 11 miles south of Prescott, Arizona and situated on two private properties, each with one owner. The owners are Gold Paradise Peak, Inc. and Sino Vantage Group, Inc.
“Arizona’s waterways are the heart of our communities, sustaining both people and wildlife,” said ADEQ Cabinet Executive Officer Director Karen Peters. “The Hassayampa River is a vital resource and we are committed to protecting it from the harmful impacts of mine drainage. This action is about preserving the health and safety of our environment and the people who depend on it today and in the future.”
During a May 16, 2024, field visit to Senator Mine, ADEQ observed changing physical conditions. After Gold Paradise Peak, Inc. installed a concrete plug in a historic adit (horizontal mine shaft), water discharging from the original opening appeared to have been redirected into an adjacent pile of mine waste, called tailings. Saturation of the tailings pile can lead to instability and cause a collapse of the mine waste into the Hassayampa River, contaminating the water and endangering downstream wildlife. With the monsoon season underway, taking remedial actions to direct water away from the mine waste and address this threat immediately is critical to prevent further erosion and possible collapse.
Over the next 90 days, ADEQ and its contractors, Tetra Tech and Environmental Response, Inc., will conduct the following activities to divert contaminated water away from the tailings pile and prevent sediment transport in the event the tailings pile collapses:
- Installing a bypass pipeline to move the impacted portion of the Hassayampa River away from the tailings pile. The Hassayampa River will resume its normal course downstream from the Senator Mine after exiting the pipeline. ADEQ and its contractors are obtaining the necessary federal permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to install the bypass pipeline, which may need to be in place for years.
- Installing lined ditches or underground pipes near the adit mine drainage to divert contaminated water away from the tailings pile and into the bypass pipeline. This will help dry out the tailings pile and prevent ponding so that a long-term cleanup plan can be developed and implemented in the future as part of a separate project.
While ADEQ’s short-term actions will not resolve the ongoing discharges from the adit and tailings pile, they will mitigate the immediate threats caused by this complex issue, which is expected to take years to resolve. ADEQ will continue to hold the property owners responsible for the long-term solution. ADEQ is committed to ensuring proper remediation of Senator Mine to protect public health and the environment and to restoring the Hassayampa River back to its original flow path.
For more information about Senator Mine and ADEQ’s activities, visit the Senator Mine Permit of Interest page | View >
Senator Mine is located on private property, and unauthorized visits may be considered trespassing, which is illegal. Mine adits, shafts, tailings, and waste rock may be unstable and dangerous. The Arizona State Mine Inspector’s office advises the public to “STAY OUT STAY ALIVE” | Arizona State Mine Inspector >
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