SAN FRANCISCO — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has added Afterthought Mine near Bella Vista in Shasta County, California, to the Superfund National Priorities List (NPL). This list identifies sites across the United States and its territories where historic releases of hazardous substances pose significant threats to human health and the environment.
Afterthought Mine operated from 1862 to 1952, producing copper, zinc, lead, silver, and gold. The mining activities have left behind contaminated soil and sediment that are in direct contact with Little Cow Creek and Afterthought Creek. Little Cow Creek is used for fishing and provides critical habitat for steelhead trout.
“Adding Afterthought Mine to the Superfund list will enable EPA to move forward and take on the contamination at the site,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Martha Guzman. “Cleaning up the polluted land and water at and around Afterthought Mine, with the goal of returning them for productive use, will be a win for public health and local economies.”
The EPA proposed adding Afterthought Mine to the NPL on March 5, 2024, accepting public comments on the proposal from March 7 until May 6, 2024.
The NPL includes sites with serious uncontrolled or abandoned releases of contamination. It serves as a basis for prioritizing EPA Superfund cleanup funding and enforcement actions. Only non-federal sites included on the NPL are eligible for federal funding for long-term cleanup.
Before adding a site to the NPL, it must meet EPA’s requirements and be proposed in the Federal Register with a 60-day public comment period. A site may be added if it continues to meet listing requirements after this period.
Superfund cleanups provide health and economic benefits to communities. The program is credited with reducing birth defects and blood-lead levels among children living near sites. Research shows residential property values can increase by up to 24 percent within three miles of cleaned-up sites.
Since taking office, the Biden-Harris Administration has committed to updating the NPL twice a year instead of once annually. This announcement marks the second update in 2024.
