Federal and state agencies, an Indian tribe and the maker of Roundup weedkiller have agreed to develop comprehensive plans to clean up pollution at three defunct phosphate mines, officials said Tuesday.
The pact, which was announced by the Environmental Protection Agency, requires Monsanto Co. to investigate pollution from its mines in Ballard, Henry, and Enoch Valley. A first proposed cleanup plan is expected by 2013.
Mines dotting Idaho's rich phosphate belt came under scrutiny after livestock were poisoned by selenium starting in the 1990s. Though no horses, sheep or cattle died at Monsanto sites, EPA officials say the agreement will provide a clearer picture of health risks to people, livestock and wildlife.
"After years of hard work, we've gotten everyone signed on to create a comprehensive, in-depth look at the risks these mines pose," said Lori Cohen, who heads EPA's Superfund Cleanup office in Seattle.
Other agencies party to the pact are the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, as well as the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes in Fort Hall, Idaho.
The agreement doesn't cover work that St. Louis-based Monsanto is undertaking separately to remedy selenium and heavy-metal releases from a mine that the EPA says is violating the federal Clean Water Act.
Monsanto unearthed phosphate at the Ballard Mine from 1951 to 1969, the Henry Mine from 1969 to 1989 and the Enoch Valley Mine from 1989 until a few years ago.
The company signed an initial cleanup pact for the sites in 2004. The new agreement is aimed at developing long-term measures for pollutants still being released from waste rock dumps into nearby soil, water, and vegetation, the EPA said.
Monsanto is seeking approval of a new mine near the Wyoming-Idaho border to supply phosphate ore for Roundup production plants in Iowa and Louisiana. Critics have demanded that old mines be cleaned up before new ones win federal approval.
Still, the company would have signed this pact even if it wasn't seeking a new permit, said Dave Farnsworth, who heads Monsanto's mining operations in Soda Springs.
"Monsanto recognizes its environmental responsibility," Farnsworth said. "Legacy sites must be rigorously evaluated, and it is our commitment to find and implement those actions necessary to repair and preserve the quality of the environment at these sites."
The Forest Service, EPA and other agencies have a similar agreement with Boise-based fertilizer maker J.R. Simplot Co. at two mines it controls. Longterm cleanup plans for additional mines controlled by Simplot, Philadelphia-based FMC Corp. and Canada's Agrium Inc. also are under negotiations.
