By BRENT ISRAELSEN
Oct. 15, 2000 (The Salt Lake Tribune)—Kennecott Utah Copper Corp. has agreed to pay more than $100,000 for discharging arsenic-contaminated waste water into wetlands and the Great Salt Lake.
The money will settle a state complaint filed after a September 1999 break in a waste-water pipeline that runs from the smelter to a nearby pump station.
As a result of the leak, which lasted almost a month before it was detected by Kennecott, an estimated 29 million gallons of effluent ran into wetlands on company property. Some of the waste water eventually found its way into the "008 outflow," a pipeline that runs beneath Interstate 80 and drains directly into the Great Salt Lake.
State water-quality officials measured arsenic levels at 1.86 milligrams per liter (mg/L) at the outflow's discharge point. That reading was nearly 4 times the 0.5 mg/L arsenic level allowed by Kennecott's state pollution-discharge permit.
Arsenic is a naturally occurring element that in large doses can cause death in humans and animals. Its lingering existence in the environment of the Great Salt Lake is less known. There is no standard for arsenic in the lake's water, said Fred Pehrson, assistant division director.
Pehrson said Kennecott's pipeline break occurred during construction-related activities on the company's site. It went undetected because it was in an area obscured by tall reeds, said company vice president Bill Williams.
"This is an unfortunate incident that is not characteristic of our operations," Williams said.
Kennecott since has replaced the pipeline with a double-walled line to reduce the chance of future spills.
The monetary settlement agreed to by Kennecott and the state requires the company to pay a $27,000 fine and to grant $75,000 to Utah State University for a statewide septic-tank training program.
The USU program trains health inspectors, environmental regulators and the general public on the proper design and installation of septic tanks, whose increasing numbers are threatening groundwater sources around the state. The 2000 Utah Legislature failed to fund the program, which environmental regulators say is "essential" to protecting water quality.
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