Great Divide Sand Tailings Reclamation Project
Lewis and Clark County, Montana
The US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has granted the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) stimulus funding for the Great Divide Sand Tailings Reclamation Project in Lewis and Clark County.
The Great Divide Sand Tailings Site is the remnants of the abandoned Belmont and Bald Mountain Mine Sites. It’s located about 21 miles west/northwest of Helena and approximately 0.75 mile west of Marysville. The mine waste tailings are located on BLM land directly up from the Great Divide Ski Area chalet.
The milling equipment and buildings have already been removed from the site. In 1995, the BLM attempted to cap the tailings material in place in an impoundment. Since then the tailings impoundment has sustained considerable damage - primarily from excessive surface water runoff. Potentially contaminated sediments are being deposited near the ski lodge, parking lot areas and eventually into Jennies Fork.
All tailings material from the site will be excavated and disposed of in an off-site repository. The repository will be built to consolidate waste materials from both the nearby Bald Butte Reclamation Project and the Great Divide Sand Project.
Approximately 40,000 cubic yards of tailings material from the Great Divide site will be put into the repository. After removing the tailings, the cover soil will be backfilled in the excavation areas, seeded, and mulched. Construction of three run-on/runoff control ditches will be completed to protect the reclaimed surfaces.
The proposed repository will be located approximately 2 miles south of the Great Divide Sand Tailings site on the south side of the Continental Divide on BLM land. The repository will occupy approximately 8.3 acres and contain approximately 180,000 cubic yards of materials.
In order to meet the health and environmental objectives of the projects, the repository will be designed and constructed with a layered geosynthetic bottom liner and a multi-layered geomembrane cap. The cap will be covered with two feet of seeded cover soil.
The reclamation activities will be completed in three construction seasons starting in the summer of 2010. Most of the work at Great Divide will be completed in 2011.
This project will benefit the public by having more land reclaimed, improved local water quality and protection of human health and the environment. The shared repository also consolidates the waste in one location, enabling effective monitoring. Physical safety hazards from abandoned mine openings on land near Marysville, the repository site and Great Divide Tailings Site will also be mitigated. Finally, the projects will be done using private sector consultants and contractors, which stimulate the local economy.
Invitation for Bids
Marysville Collapse Feature Bid Package
IFB 410018 Bid Form (25 KB)
IFB 410018 Site Map (620 KB)
IFB 410018 Standard Form (447 KB)
Great Divide Sand Tailings/Bald Butte Mine and Millsite Reclamation Project Bid Package
Bid Walk Through Sign In Sheet (105 KB)
Plan Holder List (48 KB)
BBGD Questions & Answers (23 KB)
Northwestern Energy Estimate (213 KB)
Final Bid Tabs (29 KB)
