Hondo mine scrutinized
7/19/2012 6:00:00 AM
Ahron Sherman
Miner Staff Reporter
Hondo Minerals Corporation, which operates the Tennessee and Schuylkill mines in Chloride, received three notices of violations from the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality in the last month-and-a-half.
Two of the violations, one for discharging water without an aquifer protection permit and one for not having a permit for storm water discharge, were sent to the company on May 23.
The third violation was sent on June 11 and alleges that Hondo operated two combustion engines - each over 325 horsepower - without an air quality control permit.
Hondo has 30 days from the moment it received the two water violations to respond to ADEQ and 60 days from the day it received the air violation.
Within the responses, Hondo must either prove the violations never occurred or present documentation outlining how it plans to get the required permits and correct the alleged problems.
The mine site and its metal concentration plant are capable of producing gold, silver, zinc and other metals, according to Hondo's website. The property was at one time the largest producer of silver in Arizona. Construction of the plant began in 2011.
"We have received the notices and have been actively working with ADEQ staff toward addressing their requirements," said Hondo CEO William Miertschin.
Mark Shaffer, ADEQ director of communications, said Hondo responded to the storm water discharge violation by paying for a multi-sector storm water discharge permit.
Hondo filed a notice of intent with ADEQ, but the agency wants to see a storm water pollution prevention plan for the project, Miertschin said.
The company hired private consultant Mohave Engineering and Associates, Inc., a civil engineering, surveying and material testing company, to prepare the plan.
Hondo expects to present the plan to ADEQ this week, he added.
"An Arizona pollutant discharge elimination system permit is required for pollutant discharge from any source on the site to a water of the United States or a separate storm sewer system," Shaffer said. "I don't know the topography of this site, but many of these types of operations are typically in rugged desert hills in which the drainage into arroyos would be considered a water of the United States."
Hondo has not set up a pre-application meeting to acquire an aquifer protection permit, which it legally must have to discharge at the mine site, Shaffer said.
An aquifer protection permit is required in Arizona if you own or operate a facility that discharges a pollutant either directly to a subterranean aquifer or to the land surface or vadose zone (the area between an aquifer and the land surface) in such a manner that there is a reasonable probability the pollutant will reach an aquifer, Shaffer said.
Right now, the site is a zero-discharge facility, Miertschin said. In the future, Hondo may need to discharge pollutants, so the company is pursuing the permit anyway.
"It's very important that mining operations follow state law and acquire the proper permits before they start operations," Shaffer said.
"Our investigation of this matter is ongoing and a lot of this is dependent on the pre-application (aquifer protection permit) meeting in which we actually sit down and meet with them and review their engineered drawings."
The meeting allows Hondo to discuss issues relevant to getting their permit, such as groundwater monitoring, design, best available demonstrated control technologies, operations and closure.
The meeting would also be used to determine if an individual or general aquifer protection permit is appropriate, according to ADEQ documents.
Hondo still has until Aug. 12 to come into compliance with the air quality violation, and the company is still within its 60-day deadline to respond, Shaffer said.
Miertschin said the engines are not permitted, but that they fall within ADEQ compliance guidelines.
"We were caught unaware on this one," he said. Newly enacted regulations require the permit for the engines, but Hondo didn't know of the rules, he said.
Next year, the engines will be out of compliance because regulations are set to change once again. They will need to be retrofitted in order to remain compliant, Miertschin said.
"The investigation on the air quality side is ongoing," Shaffer said. "We can't speak to the seriousness of that violation or (explain) what is next until we receive a response from them on that matter."
It is the responsibility of the company to have all permits required for their operations to be in compliance with the law, Shaffer said.
Though construction was yet to be completed, the Mining State and Health Administration designated the site as an operating mine on May 17, said Hondo Operations Manager Rhena Drury.
This led to ADEQ discovering the violations, even though the site didn't go live until June 27.
"I told (ADEQ inspectors), 'What you tell us to do, we'll do,' " Drury said.
Hondo has worked closely with ADEQ since, but "we're just a little behind the curve."
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