The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality announced it has successfully completed a project to protect a river south of Prescott from mine waste.
In late June, ADEQ issued a determination of emergency to fund and take actions to protect the Hassayampa River from waste originating in Senator Mine.
A concrete plug had redirected water into piles of leftover materials and rocks from the mine, increasing the risk of collapse due to erosion.
The agency installed drains to prevent mine water from seeping into those piles and a 42-inch temporary pipeline approximately 8-hundred feet long to divert the river’s flow.
ADEQ says it will monitor the pipeline while it develops options to clean up Senator Mine.
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