News Release Archive

Event to Celebrate the Completion of Matheson Superfund Site Clean Up

Media Contact: Jeffrey S. McCracken, 916-978-5100, jmccracken@mp.usbr.gov

For Release: October 07, 2005

At 11 a.m. on Thursday, October 13, 2005, the Bureau of Reclamation will celebrate the completion of the Matheson Superfund Site clean up with a ceremony at the site located on Iron Mountain Road at Matheson Road, near Redding, California.  

The old Matheson Ore Transfer Station was historically used for storage and transport of low-grade pyrite ore (containing high concentrations of arsenic, lead, and sulfuric acid) from Iron Mountain Mine (a Superfund Site) to Southern Pacific Railway cars.  A consent decree settlement was reached in 2000 for the Iron Mountain Mine site but did not include clean up of the toxic pyrite piles and dangerous structures abandoned at the Matheson Site.  A popular recreational area for locals, it was a potential public health threat as well as a source of acid mine drainage into the Sacramento River, habitat to listed salmon species. 

In 2001, Reclamation obtained funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agencys (EPA) Central Hazmat Fund to remove the pyrite waste and restore the site.  This is an important resource improvement because the scenic Sacramento River Rail Trail and access to the Chappie-Shasta Off-Highway Vehicle Recreation Area runs through the Matheson Site.  The EPA worked closely with Reclamation in restoring the site, and the Bureau of Land Management will improve the area for recreational uses.

The public is invited to attend the celebration.  There is limited parking at the Copley Mountain Staging Area.  Shuttles will transport attendees from the parking area to the event location. 

For more information regarding the event, please call Ms. Donna Potter, Reclamations Public Affairs Office, at 916-978-5103.

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