When Pegasus Gold filed for bankruptcy and abandoned Beal Mountain in
1999, the company left a contaminated, leak-prone mine that’s been a
financial strain on taxpayers ever since.
So far, cleaning up
pollution from the Beal Mountain gold mine has cost the public about $13
million, but the tab to fully restore the land could cost another $39
million.
“We just don’t have enough money,” said Mary Beth Marks, a federal employee who is coordinating the cleanup.
The
lack of money illustrates what happens when private companies fail to
leave adequate funding to clean up when they finish mining. Gold mines
use toxic chemicals, such as cyanide, and unearth enough rock to release
hazardous metals into rivers and groundwater.
http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/2014/10/13/4536680_lack-of-cleanup-money-a-big-issue.html?rh=1
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