FY 1997 Annual Financial Report: Contaminated Environments

Contaminated Environments

Goal: Reduce both environmental contamination and the cost of cleaning up existing contamination.

The USGS role is to identify and define the occurrence and effects of contamination, broaden our basic understanding of contaminant hazards, and provide pertinent information to those concerned with mitigation and prevention.

FY 1997 Accomplishments

Methyl-tert-butyl ether (MTBE) Contamination

USGS scientists from the Toxic Substances Hydrology Program have developed a methodology to assess the potential for natural attenuation of MTBE at gasoline spill sites. (Natural attenuation is a remedial process for contaminated sites in which the contaminant is allowed to degrade by natural processes into compounds that pose little or no threat to the environment.) MTBE has been used as an octane booster in gasoline since the mid-1970's and as a fuel oxygenate to achieve reductions in carbon dioxide and ozone in the atmosphere as mandated by the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments. MTBE is much more soluble in water than other components of gasoline and is believed to be persistent in the subsurface. These facts, together with field evidence that MTBE solute migrates ahead of other gasoline components at spill sites, challenge the paradigm of the natural attenuation alternative.

The Toxic Substances Hydrology Program has developed field methods for assessing releases from leaking underground storage tanks of MTBE in ground water and for assessing the efficiency of natural attenuation processes (biodegradation, sorption, dilution). This methodology is being adopted by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control to integrate consideration of fuel oxgenates (such as MTBE) into the State Underground Petroleum Emergnecy Response Bank program. By adopting USGS methods, South Carolina is saving the costs (estimated at $400,000) and the time (estimated at 2 years) associated with developing their own protocol.

Abandoned Mine Lands

Upper Animas River, Colorado

In FY 1997, the USGS successfully implemented the Abandoned Mine Lands (AML) Initiative. The goal of this 5-year initiative is to develop a watershed approach to gathering the scientific information needed by Federal land management agencies to effectively and cost-efficiently remediate contamination associated with abandoned mine lands. A significant early accomplishment of the AML Initiative is the completion of four tracer injection studies in mountain streams affected by acid mine drainage. A tracer injection study identifies and prioritizes the many individual sources of metals and acid in a mountain watershed, thus enabling targeting of resources on contaminant sources that will have the greatest improvement in watershed quality. The tests were conducted in the Initiative's pilot watersheds, the Upper Animas River, Colorado, and the Boulder River, Montana. As a result of their success, two additional tests were requested by USGS to support their decisions related to remediation at Fisher Creek, Montana (New World Mine), and Wightman Fork, Colorado (Summitville Mine).

Additional information about the AML Initiative can be found at:

http://amli.usgs.gov/amli/

Additional information on tracer-injection studies can be found at:

http://wwwdutslc.wr.usgs.gov/usgsabout/fs245/245.html

Louisiana Wetlands Restoration.

Results from the USGS barrier island and wetland studies in Louisiana are being widely used by the Federal-State Coastal Wetlands Restoration Task Force as part of a $200 million effort to conserve and restore coastal wetlands in Louisiana. This is a long-term activity, and much of the baseline scientific information and guidance is provided by the USGS. A follow-on study in Louisiana addresses loss of biologically important wetlands and contamination in Lake Pontchartrain; these issues concern Federal agencies, State and city governments, and the public. Results of these USGS studies are providing information in the form of workshops, computer data bases, and detailed maps of the sea floor and shoreline used to restore the estuary and manage the urban coastal region.

USGS baseline data aid mitigation efforts and reservoir planning

The Southwest Water Quality Conservation District, the Bureau of Reclamation, the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, and the City of Durango requested a USGS baseline study of metals in the Animas River in Colorado to understand the source, transport, and fate of metals and impact on water quality. More than 90 percent of the metals present in stream sediments were derived from the intensely mined watershed above Silverton, Colorado. USGS measured current levels of metals contents of the Animas and these data provided a baseline to evaluate the effect of planned remediation work above Silverton. The goals are to improve the quality of drinking water for the City of Durango and the quality of irrigation water within the watershed. The Bureau of Reclamation is using these data to evaluate metal loads, especially selenium, resulting from pumping Animas River water into the proposed Animas-La Plata Reservoir.

This study directly benefits public and environmental health and allows policymakers and land planners to better manage their water resources.

John Besser collecting invertebrate sample

John Besser (USGS-BRD) collecting invertebrate
sample, Mineral Creek, Animas River
Watershed above Silverton, Colo.

Paul Von Guerard (USGS-WRD) and Bill Simon (Animas River Stakeholders Group) making a presentation on remediation plans in Animas Basin, Colo.

Mining Wastes Impact Aquatic Life in Greater Yellowstone Area

USGS scientists determined that heavy metals, specifically copper, are impacting aquatic life in Soda Butte Creek, a tributary of the Lamar River in Yellowstone National Park. Soda Butte Creek has been affected by gold, copper, and lead mining and milling wastes for over a century. This information has been incorporated into the Environmental Impact Analysis to be used for remediation of the mined lands. Partners that are involved in the effort including the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, and Greater Yellowstone Coalition will use this information in implementation of remediation actions.

Biomonitoring of Environmental Status and Trends

USGS scientists sampled fish throughout the Mississippi River Basin in late 1985 as part of the Biomonitoring of Environmental Status and Trends (BEST) program. Results from chemical analysis of whole fish indicated that organochlorine insecticides and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have declined substantially since 1986. Although dichloro-diphenyl-trichloro-ethane and its metabolites were found at only 3 of 34 sites, chlordane, dieldrin, and PCBs continued to be found throughout the basin but at lower levels than previously recorded. This information will be used to guide future research and regulatory activities on specific contaminants and assess consequences of remediation and regulatory actions.

Water Availability and Quality || Natural Hazards || Geographic and Cartographic Information || Contaminated Environments || Land and Water Use || Nonrenewable Resources || Environmental Effects on Human Health || Biological Resources
Return to Business Activities

This page is https://pubs.usgs.gov/97financial/contaminants.html
Maintained by John Watson
Last updated June 19, 1998