Ely Copper Mine

Overview

The Ely Copper Mine is an abandoned 350-acre copper mining site in Vershire, Vermont, listed on the EPA's National Priorities List since September 2001. The property has been used for commercial timber management since 1950 and contains historic mining structures alongside about 30 acres of waste material, estimated at 172,000 tons of waste rock, tailings, and smelter wastes. The site is divided into four operable units, each targeting a specific contamination problem: waste piles, adit discharge, underground tunnels, and a smelter area with associated groundwater issues.

The main environmental problem is acid mine drainage. When sulfide-containing mine waste contacts water and oxygen, it produces sulfuric acid that pulls metals into nearby water. EPA has identified ten contaminants of concern, including aluminum, cadmium, cobalt, copper, iron, lead, manganese, nickel, selenium, and zinc. These contaminants appear in waste piles, soil, sediment, groundwater, surface water, and leachate. The acidic, metal-rich water has caused severe ecological damage in Schoolhouse Brook, Ely Brook, several tributaries, and two on-site ponds. Contaminated groundwater makes water in and around the underground mine workings unsuitable for human consumption, and elevated metal levels pose a risk to children exposed to waste and soils under residential use scenarios.

EPA signed Records of Decision for the first three operable units between 2011 and 2016. The cleanup plan consolidates contaminated waste into an on-site containment cell covered to limit water and oxygen contact. It also includes slope stabilization, drainage controls, wetlands restoration, passive treatment systems for water discharging from the Deep Adit and Main Adit, and a plug to stabilize a collapsed underground passage. Sections of Ely Brook and two ponds will be reconstructed. A Grant of Environmental Restriction and Easement effective May 2019 prohibits residential use and groundwater extraction across the affected areas. Remedial action across multiple operable units began in March 2022. A contractor mobilized in September 2024 and is expected to need two to three years to complete the work. The tunnels operable unit was completed in September 2024. Work on waste piles and adit discharge is estimated to wrap up between March and May 2028. Investigation of the smelter and groundwater operable unit is estimated to begin between September and November 2027. According to EPA, human exposure is currently under control, but groundwater migration status remains uncertain due to insufficient data.

EPA is working alongside Vermont's Department of Environmental Conservation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Community members can review site documents at the Town of Vershire town offices, the Town of West Fairlee offices, or the EPA Region 1 Records and Information Center in Boston. Fact sheets have been prepared for public meetings, and more information is available at www.epa.gov/superfund/ely. For direct questions, community members can contact EPA's Community Involvement Coordinator Darriel Swatts or Remedial Project Manager Nico Blomerth.