Page 14 - HMCSocialResponsibility

Lucky Friday reduces solid waste streams through reuse, recycling, and recovery. All used cap lamp batteries are shipped out for recovery of lead and other heavy metals; a similar method is used to extract trace amounts of mercury from light bulbs and uorescent lighting ballasts. Solvents, coolants, and petroleum products are also recycled.
PUBLIC POLICY AND GOVERNING LAWS, RULES, AND REGULATIONS e U.S. mining industry is second only to nuclear energy in terms of regulatory requirements. e Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) of the Department of Labor has oversight authority for health and safety; environmental oversight occurs primarily through federal laws under which the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), along with various state agencies, administers a variety of permits under authority of the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act. Additional state and local requirements may add further obligations and more stringent conditions than apply under federal requirements.
Greens Creek, Lucky Friday, and Grouse Creek all have
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits. All three operate under the EPA’s Industrial Multi-Sector General Permit for stormwater discharges. Air quality permits associated with both Lucky Friday and Greens Creek are regulated through federal permit programs; state air quality rules also apply to these operations. Because some sections of Hecla’s operations are on federally managed land, activities requiring federal approvals must go through a National Environmental Policy Act review.
Legislative actions greatly impact how the mining industry operates. Hecla employees are active with a number of organizations that advocate reasonable regulatory oversight for the industry.
ese include the National Mining Association, the Northwest Mining Association, and the Idaho, Alaska, and Colorado Mining Associations.
Reclaimed waste rock storage facility at Grouse Creek, central Idaho.
RESPONSIBLE RECLAMATION Reclamation is an integral part of every active site plan. Methods vary from site to site, but all have the same goals: return the land to viable post-disturbance uses and mitigate environmental impacts.
Site disturbance is minimized through methods such as dry- stack tailings disposal, reuse of development rock as construction material, and underground paste back ll. At Greens Creek, helicopter support for exploration drilling minimizes road building and subsequent reclamation. Both Grouse Creek and Lucky Friday work to protect and enhance biodiversity by eradicating noxious weeds and planting native shrub and tree species.
Hecla remains committed to the reclamation of closed mine sites, an ongoing example of which is Grouse Creek, now 80% reclaimed. Final reclamation is planned for completion in 2012.
Hecla Mining Company 12