Pit Lakes 2004

November 16-18, 2004
Silver Legacy Hotel
Reno, Nevada

Purpose and Goals Top

The purpose of this conference is to provide a forum for the exchange of scientific information on current domestic and international pit lake approaches, including pit lakes from arid and wet regions throughout the world. These approaches include characterization, modeling/monitoring, and treatment and remediation. The advancement of these approaches will lay a stronger foundation for environmental decision-making by improving the means of identifying and prioritizing mining pit lake impacts and alternatives for their restoration.

This conference is a follow-up to the Pit Lakes Conference held in 2000. Various issues surrounding the modeling, mine planning and design, operations, and closure of mine and quarry pit lakes will be discussed. In addition to characterization and modeling of pit lakes, this conference will address closure issues within both arid and wet regions. Of special interest are case studies and field demonstrations, cost effective treatment technologies, designs to decrease acid generation, and remediation of pit lakes.

Who Should Attend Top

• EPA Program Offices
• Regional Offices
• Federal and State Agencies
• Non-Governmental Organizations
• International Scientists and Practitioners
• Academia
• Industry
• Interested parties and decision makers involved
  with the management and remediation of
  impacted pit lakes

Preliminary Agenda Top

Day 1: November 16, 2004
Session 1: Plenary Session Moderator: Doug Grosse/Diana Bless, U.S. EPA Office of Research and Development, National Risk Management Research Laboratory
8:00 am - 8:15 am		Doug Grosse and Diana Bless, U.S. EPA Office of Research and Development, National Risk Management Research Laboratory Welcoming Remarks
8:15 am - 8:30 am		Mike Cook, Director, U.S. EPA Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation Workshop Introduction
8:30 am - 9:00 am		Stephen Hoffman/Joan Fisk , U.S. EPA Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation
9:00 am - 9:30 am		Jim Jonas, NewFields Pit Lakes: State of the Science
9:30 am - 10:00 am		Warren McCullough, State of Montana
10:00 am - 10:30 am		Break
10:30 am - 11:00 am		George Fennemore, Cortez Gold Mines A Mining Industry View of Pit Lake Issues
11:00 am - 11:30 am		Devin Castendyk, The University of Auckland, New Zealand International Collaboration and the ADTI Pit Lake Workbook
11:30 am - 12:00 pm		Louis Evans, Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Mine Lakes Mine Lake Environmental and Social Sustainability Research in Western Australia
12:00 pm - 1:15 pm		Lunch Break (on your own)
Session 2: State of the Art Characterization Moderator: Donald Macalady, Colorado School of Mines
1:15 pm - 1:45 pm		Stefan Peiffer, University of Bayreuth Geochemical Constraints for the Remediation of Acidic Mining Lakes
1:45 pm - 2:15 pm		James Madison, Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology Iron Cycling in the Berkeley Pit-Lake, Butte, Montana: A Review of Data from 1997 to 2004
2:15 pm - 2:45 pm		Christopher Gammons, Montana Tech of the University of Montana A Stable Isotope Study of the Berkeley Pit-Lake and Surrounding Mine Waters, Butte, Montana, USA
2:45 pm - 3:15 pm		Carolyn Oldham, Centre for Water Research, University of Western Australia Aqueous Geochemistry of Coal Mine Pit Lakes, Collie Basin, W.A.
3:15 pm - 3:45 pm		Donald Macalady, Colorado School of Mines A Pit Lake from Historic Mining Activities in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan: Characterization and Remediation Experiments
3:45 pm - 4:15 pm		Break
Session 3: Environmental Modeling I Moderator: David Jewett, U.S. EPA Office of Research and Development, National Risk Management Research Laboratory
4:15 pm - 4:45 pm		G.N. Ivey, Centre for Water Research, University of Western Australia Hydrodynamic Processes in a Western Australian Coal Mine Pit Lake
4:45 pm - 5:15 pm		Devin Castendyk, The University of Auckland, New Zealand The Prediction of Mixing Events in a Future Pit Lake: A Precursor to Geochemical Modeling
5:30 pm - 7:30 pm		Posters and Tabletops Session – Evening Cash Bar Reception *Posters will be left up throughout the duration of the conference.
Day 2: November 17, 2004
Session 4: Environmental Modeling II Moderator: Laurie Balistrieri, U.S. Geological Survey
8:30 am - 9:00 am		Laurie Balistrieri, U.S. Geological Survey Predicting Spatial and Temporal Variations in Temperature, Salinity, and Conservative Elements During Stratification and Overturn in Dexter Pit Lake, Tuscarora, Nevada, USA
9:00 am - 9:30 am		Regina Tempel, University of Nevada – Reno Modeling Geochemical Changes in Dissolved O2, Mn, and Fe During Stratification and Overturn in Dexter Pit Lake, Tuscarora, Nevada
9:30 am - 10:00 am		Florian Werner, Dresden Centre for Groundwater Research Modeling of Pollutant Fluxes in an East German Lignite Mining Area to Predict Water Quality of Pit Lakes
10:00 am - 10:30 am		Break
10:30 am - 11:00 am		William Locke, Integral Consulting, Inc Forensic Methods to Evaluate Pit Lake Hydrology and Geochemistry: Application of Isotope and Geochemical Tools
11:00 am - 11:30 am		Kevin Morin, Minesite Drainage Assessment Group The Minewall Approach for Estimating the Geochemical Effects on Mine Walls on Pit Lakes
11:30 am – 12:00 pm		Andy Davis, Geomega The Nexus Between Groundwater Modeling, Pit Lake Arsenic Geochemistry and Ecological Risk in the Getchell Main Pit, Nevada, U.S.A.
12:00 pm - 1:30 pm		Lunch Break (on your own)
12:30 pm - 1:00 pm		Keynote Speaker Jeremy Dowling, Water Management Consultants Sleeper Pit in Nevada
Session 5: Closure Issues Moderator: Carol Russell, U.S. EPA Region 8
1:30 pm - 2:00 pm		Brian Park, MSE Technology Applications, Inc. Current Status of Anchor Hill Pit Lake In Situ Treatment, Gilt Edge Mine Superfund Site, South Dakota, USA
2:00 pm - 2:30 pm		Katrin Wendt-Potthoff, UFZ-Centre for Environmental Research Leipzig-Halle In Situ Remediation of an Acidic Pit Lake: Stimulation of Microbial Sulphate Reduction in Enclosure Experiments
2:30 pm - 3:00 pm		Oscar Paulson, Kennecott Uranium Company Status Update on the Bioremediation of the Sweetwater Pit Lake - Four Years Following Treatment
3:00 pm - 3:30 pm		Break
3:30 pm - 4:00 pm		Valentina Pidlisnyuk, University of Georgia State of the Art Characterization with Pit Lakes in Ukraine: Problems and Challenges for Future
4:00 pm - 4:30 pm		Jeff Parshley, SRK Consulting (U.S.), Inc. Reclamation and Closure Assessment for the Summer Camp Pit Lake, Getchell Mine, Nevada
4:30 pm - 5:00 pm		Richard Axler, Natural Resources Research Institute, University of Minnesota-Duluth Mine Pit Aquaculture in Minnesota: Perspectives on the Environmental & Regulatory Issues, 1988-1999
Day 3: November 18, 2004
Session 6: Future Directions Moderator: Karl Burgher, Montana Tech/Mark Peterson, Montana Tech
8:30 am - 9:00 am		Oscar Flite III, EcoEnvironmental Corporation A Limnological Approach to Meromictic Pit Lake Development
9:00 am - 9:30 am		Carolyn Oldham, Centre for Water Research, University of Western Australia Predicting Long Term Water Quality in Pit Lakes
9:30 am - 10:00 am		Lorraine Filipek, URS Complexity Theory and Pit Lakes: A Small Event Triggers Regime Change in the Summer Camp Pit Lake, Getchell Mine, Nevada
10:00 am - 10:30 am		Break
10:30 am - 11:00 am		Houston Kempton, Integral Consulting, Inc. Critical Parameters for Predictive Modeling and Long-Term Management of Mine Pit Lakes
Panel and Open Discussion Facilitator: Glenn Miller, University of Nevada - Reno
11:00 am – 11:30 am		Joe Harrington, ARCADIS, Inc.
11:30 am – 12:00 pm		Open Discussion
12:00 pm - 12:15 pm		Closing Remarks

List of Posters/Tabletop Displays Top

1. Lisa Stillings, U.S. Geological Survey
   Hydrogeochemical Variability Among Pit Lakes in Nevada and California
2. Douglas Cameron, Montana Tech of the University of Montana
   Characterization of Dissolved Organic Carbon in Berkeley Pit Lake Water Using Stirred-Cell Ultrafiltration and Spectroscopic Analysis
3. Shannon Dunlap, Golden Sunlight Mine
   Evaluation of Pit Reclamation Alternatives at the Golden Sunlight Mine
4. Joseph Jersak, AquaBlok, Ltd.
   Potential Uses of Relatively Low-Permeability Lines Systems in Pit Lake Environments
5. Grant Mitman, Montana Tech at the University of Montana
   Algal Bioremediation of the Berkeley Pit Lake System: An In Situ Test Using Limnocorrals
6. Carolyn Oldham, Centre for Water Research (CWR), University of Western Australia
   Predicting Pit Lake Water Storage
7. Monty George, ACZ Laboratories
   ACZ Laboratories
8. Mitra Jha, U.S. EPA Region 8
   Impacts of Suspended and Bedded Sediment on Primary Productivity and Ecological Succession of Pit Lakes
9. T. Neil Blandford, Daniel B. Stephens & Associates, Inc
   Lake Formation at Multiple Mine Pits - Model Development, Verification and Application for Closure
10. David McConchie, Southern Cross University & Virotec International
    From Pit Lake or Tailings Dam to Viable Aquatic Ecosystems
11. Marc Wen, Rescan Environmental Services Ltd.
    Results from a Pit Lake Enclosure Study to Test the Treatment of Acid Mine Drainage at Island Copper, British Columbia, Canada

Location and Lodging Top

The conference will be held at the following location:
Silver Legacy Hotel
407 North Virginia Street
Reno, NV 89501
Phone: (775) 325-7401

A block of rooms has been reserved at the hotel. Please call the Silver Legacy at (775) 325-7401 or (800) 687-8733 and reference the “Pit Lakes Conference” to receive the conference rate of $55.00 (or the prevailing government rate) plus 13.5% tax per night for single occupancy. Please secure your hotel accommodations as early as possible because reservations will only be accepted on a space available basis. Reservations must be made by Monday, October 25, 2004. After this date, reservations will only be accepted on a rate available, space available basis.

Registration Top

There is NO registration fee to attend the workshop.

Online registration via the link below is the easiest way to register and receive quick confirmation.

Register for the Pit Lakes 2004 Conference

After you register, you will receive an email confirmation containing logistical details such as directions and transportation information. If you do not receive a confirmation within one business day, please contact Alina Martin of SAIC to ensure your registration was received.

For additional information, please direct inquiries to:
Alina Martin, SAIC
11251 Roger Bacon Drive
Reston, VA 20190
Phone: (703) 318-4678
Fax: (703) 318-4755
Email: tcs-events@saic.com

It is EPA’s policy to make reasonable accommodation to persons with disabilities wishing to participate in the Agency’s programs, pursuant to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. 791. Any request for accommodation should be made to Alina Martin, SAIC, at tcs-events@saic.com by Tuesday, October 12, 2004, so that EPA will have sufficient time to process the request.