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Dam below historic Argonaut Mine threatens city of Jackson

Old dam below historic mine threatens Gold Rush town of Jackson - emergency fix being rushed through.
A 99-year-old dam above Jackson

JACKSON, CA - A 99-year-old dam above the city of Jackson was getting an emergency fix because of fears that heavy rainfall could send tons of polluted mine tailings pouring down on property and people.

The old dam, cracked and crumbling, holds back 165,000 tons of tailings from the Argonaut Mine, dating to 1852 -- and one of the richest in the state before it closed in 1942.

Jackson mayor Patrick Crew said no one suspected the historic time bomb sitting in the hills above.

"You get scientists and engineers and you look at the problem and go, oh, ooh," Crew said. "This is not what we thought it was."

With the rainy season already starting, the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) began work to build a storm water diversion system. DTSC was designing and building a system to divert storm water around the dam to lower the risk of a dam failure that could come from pressure building up from heavy rain in soil and tailings behind the dam. A study earlier this year found the dam to be structurally unstable.

"There is a very serious danger to the City of Jackson if this dam collapses," said Charlie Ridenour, Supervising Hazardous Substance Engineer for DTSC. "We are working swiftly to help reduce the chances of a possible catastrophe."

"The dam is not stable. Right now, the workaround is to make a bigger drainage to handle the outflow because of El Nino," Crew said.

The short-term fix is to replace a 12-inch drainage pipe with a 42-inch pipe to divert storm water around the dam. The long-term fix: to be paid for with state dollars with a complete retrofit for the dam to be finished in two years. 

According to Jorge Moreno, from DTSC's office of communications, the estimated cost could be between $8 to $14 million.

Some in Jackson were not convinced the old dam poses a threat.

"I think it's a waste of time and effort. I think they should just build on it and get it over with, " said homeowner Charlie Hetzler, who lives below the dam and points out the city's old courthouse was built on mine tailings.

But parent Jason Judd said he was stunned to discover he's living 100 yards below what the state says could be a "potential catastrophe."

"I have a son and he's eight years old and he rides his bike all throughout the neighborhood here and that would be very bad if something happened and he was out here," Judd said.

The Argonaut Mine was the site of the state's worst mine disaster, when 47 miners died in fire and toxic gas in 1922. But Mayor Crews is optimistic that this time history will go the other way.

"This is government solving a problem before it happens. And they should get the kudos for doing that," Crews said.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was evaluating the site for eligibility on the Superfund National Priorities List. U.S. EPA already completed cleanups of tailings contamination in several residential yards near the site.

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