Delta Tributaries Mercury Council ~ Meeting Summary ~ Tuesday, May 17, :30 p.m. 4:30 p.m th Street, Suite 200; Davis, CA 95616

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1 Delta Tributaries Mercury Council ~ Meeting Summary ~ Tuesday, May 17, :30 p.m. 4:30 p.m th Street, Suite 200; Davis, CA Facilitator: Stephen McCord, LWA Meeting Summary by: Stephen McCord, LWA Attendees In Person Bob Schneider, Tuleyome Carrie Monohan, TSF Bill Whiteside, Blue Sky Water Techn. Patrick Morris, RWQCB Janis Cooke, RWQCB Chris Foe, RWQCB John Henderson, USFWS Jim Weigand, USDI BLM Charlie Alpers, USGS Mark Stephenson, CDFG Lysa Voight, SRCSD Shaun Ayers, UC Davis Larry Wolf, NW Remediation Cindy Keller, NW Remediation Emmett Keller, NW Remediation Via Teleconference Leah Wills, Plumas Co. Eric Ringleberg, BSK Assoc. Joel Herr, Systech Drea Traemerer, Em Hydrology Robert Morrow, Arcadis Ivan Sturman, Ad hoc Anti-Hg Comm. Greg Reller, Burleson Consulting Janis Cooke, RWQCB Ab Davis, independent Lev Kavvas, UC Davis Suhyung Jang, UC Davis Ali Ercan, UC Davis Toshiyaki Yamasaki, UCSB Bren School Nick Zigler, UCSB Bren School Krista Teige, UCSB Bren School Bethany Taylor, UCSB Bren School Melissa Riley, UCSB Bren School Amibeth Sheridan, UCSB Bren School G. Fred Lee, G. Fred Lee & Assoc. Brian Currier, CSUS Wes Heim, CDFG Stephen Louie, RWQCB I. Introductions and Agenda Review II. Project Updates & Upcoming Events Delta Methylmercury TMDL Nonpoint Sources Workgroup (Stephen McCord, LWA) This project has not yet started; the state contract is (still) in progress. IRWM Inter-regional planning grant proposal for a Sacramento River watershed mercury strategy (Stephen McCord, LWA) Nothing new. USGS mercury studies (Charlie Alpers, USGS) (1) Ongoing work in Deer Creek with BLM is employing excavations, LIDAR and continuous turbidity sensors to characterize mercury loads from an erosive tailings pile. Sampling and sediment characterization will SRWP DTMC Meeting Minutes Page 1

2 be performed this summer. (2) Cache Creek Settling Basin study with DWR will estimate mercury loads in and out, and in-place mercury content relative to land uses. (3) USGS recently reconnoitered the North Columbia Diggins mine site, planning to sample the site this summer. (4) USGS will be monitoring around the Boston Tunnel to compare mercury levels post-remediation with levels pre-remediation. The Sierra Fund projects (Carrie Monohan, The Sierra Fund) Carrie recently presented results from the Combie Reservoir mercury recovery pilot project at the Northern Latitudes Mine Reclamation Workshop in Alaska. A recent article by USGS examined the effects of reservoirs on methylmercury production ( The authors found that riparian wetlands tended to produce the most MeHg but also that reservoirs tended to decrease it (basically sunlight's energy penetrating the clearer water and breaking the methyl bond). Bill Orme of the State Water Board (BOrme@waterboards.ca.gov) is working on an EIR for the Wetland Area Protection Policy and Dredge and Fill Regulations. In the section on Hydrology and Water Quality, the Board wants to review current knowledge on what conditions trigger methylmercury production. In particular, they want to focus on those conditions related to projects permitted under the Policy and regulations that impact waters and wetlands, like wetland and stream restoration activities, or culvert replacement, etc. They then want to review current research on what control methods can be used to reduce these impacts to a less than significant level, if possible. They also will state that projects within watersheds with an approved mercury TMDL need to comply with these requirements. The California and Nevada AML Programs are happy to announce the joint sponsorship of the 2011 NAAMLP Annual Conference up at Squaw Creek (Lake Tahoe) from Oct 9-12, A link to the 2011 NAAMLP Conference website is ( For any questions please Questions2011@conservation.ca.gov. CALFED Bay-Delta Program Ecosystem Restoration Program proposals were received for several mercury-related projects. Proposals can be viewed here ( III. Mercury TMDL Activities Addressing the San Francisco Bay Mercury TMDL, the CA Dept. of Public Health is inviting people to join its Stakeholder Advisory Group for the SF Bay Fish Project. The Group will provide input on Project activities to address risks of consuming local mercury-contaminated fish in the Bay and share information in quarterly meetings. The Project will be awarding small grants to local organizations providing fish consumption guidance in their communities. The next SAG meeting is scheduled for May 24. Central Valley Regional Board is soliciting public comments on the draft Delta Methylmercury TMDL for the Delta. Comments are due May 23 at noon. The State Board hearing is tentatively scheduled for June 21. The amendment's resolution and attachment are available on the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board's Web site at: SRWP DTMC Meeting Minutes Page 2

3 /r _res.pdf The State Board has instructed TMDL staff at several Regional Boards to develop a statewide mercury TMDL to address multiple mercury impairment listings (there are ~260 statewide). The process and content of that effort are still undetermined. One approach under consideration is to address the many reservoir impairment listings concurrently. The State Board is developing a statewide fish tissue objective for mercury. This effort will proceed in parallel with the statewide TMDL (previous bullet) for consistency. Stakeholder meetings for the mercury TMDL for the American River watershed are continuing. Regional Board staff plan to distribute a strawman Basin Plan Amendment for discussion at a CEQA scoping meeting tentatively scheduled for July. This TMDL could serve as a template for the statewide TMDL effort. IV. Presentations Four presentations were given: (1) Gold Country Angler Survey, (2) Sulphur Bank Mercury Mine Remediation Feasibility Study, (3) Mercury Control Strategies for BLM in the Cache Creek Watershed, and (4) Methylation Control Study in the Yolo Bypass. 1 - Gold Country Angler Survey A pilot study to assess mercury exposure from sport fish consumption in the Sierra Nevada (Carrie Monohan, The Sierra Fund) Volunteers completed 151 surveys at 12 popular sportfishing reservoirs in the Sierra Nevada during the summers of 2009 and 2010, largely following the survey instrument developed for the Sacramento River Angler Survey. 92% of anglers surveyed eat sport fish, although only 48% of those surveyed planned to eat the fish they were catching on the day surveyed. Meal sizes averaged 6 oz per meal, consistent with national estimates, but consumption rates varied widely among individuals. Focusing on methylmercury exposure, 9% of surveyed anglers were consuming methylmercury at levels above the OEHHA safe eating guidelines. More than half of anglers surveyed were at least somewhat aware of fish consumption health warnings, but level of awareness did not correlate with any reduction in consumption. Health care providers were the primary source of trusted health information. Recommendations for follow-up work are to increase postings of consumption advisories at angler locations, monitor more fish in the Sierra, survey more anglers, analyze zip code data, and increase awareness and funding. The full report is at: For more information contact Carrie at x14, carrie.monohan@sierrafund.org. 2 - Sulphur Bank Mercury Mine remediation Feasibility study for Sulphur Bank Mercury Mine remediation and status update (Greg Reller, Burleson Consulting Inc.) The Sulphur Bank Mercury Mine, a Superfund site, is located beside the Oaks Arm of Clear Lake in California s Coast Range. The mine site should be remediated because of the high SRWP DTMC Meeting Minutes Page 3

4 likelihood for human exposure to mercury in soils, and mercury in Clear Lake s water and sport fish. The mercury TMDL for Clear Lake will be addressed by this action. Since this site was designated as a Superfund site about 20 years ago, USEPA has completed several removal actions: graded and covered the waste rock dam, separated Herman Impoundment overflow from waste rock, removed waste rock from the Elem Indian Colony and access road, installed a stormwater pipeline, and sealed old hydrothermal wells. Now, USEPA is completing a Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study ( RI/FS ) for the terrestrial site. The terrestrial RI addresses groundwater, surface water, atmospheric emissions, waste rock, tailings, ore, near shore sediment, biota, and human health and ecological risk. The FS is considering a range of cleanup goals and remediation options, ranging from simple fencing and regrading to complete removal of contaminated soils. Addressing water seeping through the Waste Rock Dam from Herman Impoundment to Clear Lake is the most significant challenge, given the difficulty in treating hydrothermal constituents (ammonia, boron, chloride, sulfate), a blanket Basin Plan prohibition on discharge of treated water to Clear Lake, and insufficient permeability to inject treated water into the local hydrothermal system. Study documents are available at For more information: Greg Reller, , gr@burlesonconsulting.com. 3 - Mercury Control Strategies Strategies to Control Mercury Pollution in the Cache Creek Basin, Northern California (Nick Zigler, Krista Teige, Melissa Riley, Amibeth Sheridan, Bethany Taylor, and Toshi Yamasaki; Bren School, UC Santa Barbara) This group thesis project addressed the mercury impairment in the Cache Creek watershed. Several abandoned mercury mines continue to discharge mercury to local waterways. This project focused on sites on BLM lands, which cover 26% of the watershed. Mine site tailings are often on steep slopes and are highly erodible. As the location of most of these mines is very close to tributaries of Cache Creek, rainfall and resulting erosion deliver sediment to creek, eventually washing into the Yolo Bypass and San Francisco Bay-Delta. The project objectives were to (1) identify ways to conduct mercury remediation and restoration in Cache Creek, (2) develop method to determine best remediation and restoration options for different site locations, (3) evaluate management options through watershed modeling, and (4) assess legal constraints on management options. The project approach included decision trees, decision matrices, case study, and watershed modeling. The decision tree includes three workflow diagrams: (1) ask general questions about the site meant to identify whether or not the site is a good candidate for restoration, (2) characterize the site to identify feasible restoration options, and (3) examine details of the remediation and restoration technologies taken from the previous workflow. The result is prioritization of sites for restoration or remediation activities. Wetland located downstream of the Abbott-Turkey Run mine site and upstream of Harley Gulch were used as a case study. Based on cost, phytoremediation was identified as the optimal remediation activity. Emphasizing benefits to health effects, the project should remove sediments, add fill, and re-vegetate. However, no option is expected to meet the TMDL allocation for Harley Gulch. SRWP DTMC Meeting Minutes Page 4

5 The watershed model WARMF was applied to simulate historical sediment and mercury transport and transformations. The model, run on a daily time step over a decade, calibrated well to data for sediment and total mercury concentrations. A hysteresis effect was observed, whereby total mercury concentrations were different during the rising and falling limbs of the hydrograph. The dominant source of total mercury appeared to be Cache Creek Canyon, which is assumed to be caused by a combination of erosion of soil naturally high in mercury and the re-mobilization of legacy mercury in stream sediments from historical mining activity. Simulated methylmercury concentrations did not match the available data well. Nonetheless, results did confirm that no cleanup option for the Harley Gulch wetland could be expected to attain the TMDL allocation. Recommendations for the BLM are grouped into four categories: Actions to take: Remediation and restoration actions as well as best management practices in the region; Additional data collection: More water quality samples to understand mercury sources, as well as continued water quality monitoring before and after remediation and restoration actions; Further research: More research into methylation processes, better understanding of mercury sources and concentrations, and better understanding of remediation and restoration options, including emerging technologies; Partnerships: Collaborations that the BLM can encourage with other agencies and entities to help reduce mercury pollution within the Basin The team s project website is: The final report is available at: Methylation Control Study Development of BMPs to reduce methylmercury discharges from seasonal wetlands in the Yolo Bypass Area (Mark Stephenson, CDFG) During Yolo Bypass flooding events, the methylmercury produced in the Yolo Bypass is 40% of the methylmercury load from the entire Sacramento River Watershed. Methylmercury production increases with higher flows in the Bypass. Methylmercury in seasonal wetlands monitored found consistently higher levels in and in discharges from them compared to inflowing waters. Best Management Practices considered for reduction of methylmercury included temporary storage in ponds and vegetative management. Six hypotheses will be tested to evaluate BMP effectiveness: 1. MeHg is removed in permanent ponds 2. Pond physical size, age, depth and hydraulic residence time affect MeHg removal rates 3. MeHg is removed in permanent ponds by particle settling 4. MeHg is removed in permanent ponds by photodemethylation 5. MeHg production can be minimized by selecting for specific summer plants in seasonal wetlands 6. MeHg production can be minimized by summer grazing in seasonal wetlands SRWP DTMC Meeting Minutes Page 5

6 Jar experiments were conducted to characterize the effects of sediment and vegetation on methylation rates. Three conclusions were drawn from the findings: Mass of Plant Material had an effect on MeHg the more plant material the more MeHg Dissolved Oxygen also had an effect on MeHg the lower the DO the more MeHg Amount of Sediment had no effect on MeHg Culture addition experiments were also conducted, drawing the following conclusions: MeHg production is far greater in sediment and plant experiment than in plant experiment and in sediment only experiment Addition of unfiltered culture (with bacteria) stimulated MeHg production in vegetation only experiment MeHg production may occur in the water column but bacteria from sediment is probably needed For more information: Mark Stephenson, , V. Meeting Wrap-Up Future Agenda Suggestions Hg mine remediation research Ongoing study of remediation at Sulphur Bank Mercury Mine; Studies at Clear Lake and Sierra mines, Peggy O'Day (UC Merced) Bioaccumulation modeling Development and application of MERGANSER model to predicts Hg in fish tissue and in loon blood, Jamie Shanley (USGS VT-NH Water Sci. Ctr.) Mercury listing tool and cleanup project Development of a mercury impairment identification tool to use sediment mercury concentrations (along with gold mining production information and organic carbon-type measurements) as a surrogate of fish tissue mercury levels to predict mercury impairment, Charlie Alpers (USGS) Fish consumption guidance Fish contamination levels report - data analysis and uses, Bob Brodberg (OEHHA) Field-scale erosion modeling Drea Traeumer (Em Hydrology) to present a hydrologic and sediment transport model that could be used to predict BMP effectiveness at reducing total mercury loads to waterways. Next Meeting Place and Time Proposing September 13, 12:30-4:30pm USGS office on Cal State Univ. Sacramento campus SRWP DTMC Meeting Minutes Page 6