LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will hold a community forum this week to offer an update on the status of the Sulphur Bank Superfund Site in Clearlake Oaks.
The meeting will be held on Wednesday, June 16, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. via Zoom.
To join by computer, click: https://zoom.us/j/93002989951. To join by a tablet or smartphone via the Zoom app, use meeting ID 930-0298-9951.
To join by phone (audio only), call one tap audio for cell phones at +16699009128, 93002989951# or 669-900-9128 for land lines, using meeting ID 930-0298-9951.
The Sulphur Bank Mercury Mine is an abandoned open pit mercury mine located on the shoreline of Clear Lake in Clearlake Oaks.
The EPA’s website said the 160-acre site was mined intermittently for sulfur and mercury between 1865 and 1957.
The EPA added the mine to its Superfund site program in 1990.
Today, approximately two million cubic yards of mine waste are located on the property. It also includes the Herman impoundment, which the EPA said is a flooded open pit mine filled with water contaminated by mine waste and naturally occurring geothermal groundwater that covers 23 acres, is 90 feet deep and is located 750 feet from Clear Lake.
During the meeting, EPA staff will give an update on the site cleanup, including this year’s project schedule and an overview of concerns heard from recent outreach, and discuss how the site has affected the community’s use of Clear Lake.
There also will be time scheduled for a discussion of community concerns and remedies, and the best ways for EPA to share site updates.
The meeting will be broken up into “rooms” where participants will discuss different topics, including:
— trust and communication with the EPA, access to site documents and administration changes and priorities;
— lake quality effects on the community, including fish consumption, the site’s economic effects and reuse of the site;
— technical understanding and site document interpretation, including arsenic and mercury risks, algae, and mine cleanup and site documents.
For more information on the superfund site and what has been done to date, visit the EPA website.
An updated fact sheet may be found here.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.