Public Invited to Community Visioning Workshop and Meeting June 11 to Share Ideas for Possible Future of Caselton Mine Area and Mill Site
PIOCHE, NV, June 5, 2024 – Community members are encouraged to attend a community visioning workshop and meeting to provide input on the potential future use of the Caselton Mine Area and Mill Site (Site) Tuesday, June 11.
Representatives of the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP) and the Multistate Environmental Response Trust (Multistate Trust) are cohosting the events in partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Lincoln County.
Community Meeting: 5:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. The Multistate Trust will provide a brief Site progress update.
Visioning Workshop: 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. The workshop will be led by EPA and its technical assistance partners––the Center for Creative Land Recycling (CCLR) and ICF.
Location: Thompson’s Opera House, 644 Main Street, Pioche
Food: To be provided at 5:00 p.m.
Reuse Planning
Reuse planning for the Caselton Mine Area and Mill Site focuses on tourism, historic preservation, solar energy, and recreation. NDEP and the Multistate Trust, with support of project partners, are pursuing a strategy that is: clear and transparent; aligned with community-supported uses and interests; and consistent with goals to address economic, social, and environmental challenges associated with past mining and milling operations.
For more information:
-Multistate Trust website for Site https://caselton.greenfieldenvironmental.com
-NDEP website for Site https://ndep.nv.gov/land/abandoned-mine-lands/caselton-mine
Site Background
The ±3,200-acre Caselton Mine Area and Mill Site’s history of silver, gold, lead, zinc and copper production dates back to the 1860s. In 1976, the Site was acquired by Kerr-McGee Corp. Starting in the mid-2000s, Tronox Inc. and its affiliates (Tronox) owned or were liable for the Caselton Site and many other sites contaminated by Kerr-McGee and its affiliates.
Operations at the Site ended in 1957, yet aging structures and legacy mining and milling waste products remain at the Site. The main contaminants of concern are metals, including lead and arsenic.
The Multistate Trust
The Multistate Trust is a private, independent trust created as part of the Tronox bankruptcy settlement in 2011 to own, investigate and clean up the Caselton Site and other contaminated former Kerr-McGee/Tronox sites, and facilitate safe, beneficial site reuse. Greenfield Environmental Multistate Trust LLC is Trustee of the Multistate Trust.
Since the Site was transferred in 2011 to the Multistate Trust, the Multistate Trust has worked with NDEP to investigate and address contamination at the Site and to determine if remaining mining and milling materials and waste pose environmental and human health risks, and whether remedial measures can be implemented with the Site’s limited funding.