More funds for Superfund

A cleanup effort of Iron Mountain Mine near Redding is getting a giant infusion thanks to funding allocated through the economic stimulus plan.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is distributing up to $25 million for work at the mine, which is considered one of the country’s worst contaminated sites.

From the mid-1800s to 1963, the site was mined for silver, gold, copper, zinc and pyrite, in addition to iron. Water seeping from the mine polluted Spring Creek, a tributary of the Sacramento River, according to the Redding Record Searchlight.

In 1983, the mine was placed on the National Priorities List as a Superfund project.

Restoration at the site began five years later, cutting off the pollutants from the stream. EPA’s recent allocation buoys this year’s existing $10 million budget for the project, and will double the pace of the cleanup.