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~~° FtG1iTING POLLUTION-Bob Masan, Wayne Tatman and Val Crist meet to discuss creek pollution. anuotya~r.~.w on the industry as a whole, and he prides himself in running a non- polluting operation. Not only does he use Left Hand water far the processing of tail- ' ings to produce gold and other metals, but he is trying to orga- nize awater district for the town of Gold Hill. Tatman, a retired metallurgist, manages the mill for his sister Gwen Fraser who owns the mill. The company owns ZO shares of Left Hand ditch water, far more than [hey use, and Tatman wants m donate water to Gold Hill resi- ~• dents, many of whom have to mipart bottled water rather than dtinlE.,water ,from contaminated 'wells. "I'd rather see the town make use of that water than see it go down the creek," says Tatman, "The residents up here need clean water to drink. Right now, I j would rather take a shower on Three Mile Island than in Gold Hill." Bob Mason maintains that there are many good wells in Gold I-Iill, including his, but agrees that most welts have problems with eoliform bacteria. "Some people say that iC you hush a toilet on the west end of town, the water level rises in 'wells on the east side," says Tat- ' man. If the Gold Hill water system ~ is approved, Tatman says he will 1 seek matching federal funds to construct pipelines, a stnrngc ta- cility and a water treatment plant When residents discovered in late t~ctober that the Black lack Mine was leaking a milky sub- stance into the Creek, a meeting was formed to discuss the situa- tion. Taunan met with Bob Mason, the chairman of the Gotd Hill Mining Environmental Commit- tee, aretired quality assurance en- gineer for Ball Aerospace and Left Hand resident, and concemed citi- zen Val Crist who says she hasn't ' '-~ ^>,a trPl s about a wa- Since the Black Jack Kline has been ordered to stop its operation, the substance is no longer visible, but Tatman says you can bet that lead has been absorbed by the banks. He suggests sucking the water out of the creek For a few hundred feet and pumping it into settling ponds. Sob Mason says he is con- cerned about the effect of the chemicals on wildlife. "It is pre- mature to make a judgement, but you can be damn sure it's not go- ing to help the fish: ' As officials wait for test results from Left Hand water below the Black Jack Mine, Tatman contin- ues his discussion and dreams of a public water system for Gold Hitl and continues to work with the various agencies concemed. "The environmental and min- ing communities are joining Forces," he says. "A blind man could have seen that the tailing pond was full, and they never should have started operating. As faz as I'm concemed, that site should be a superfund site. Will that mine open up again? Trust me." Bola Mason says that mining damage should be the industry's Most Gold Hili wells have problems with coliform bacteria. responsibility and that the Black Jack mine should be made to clean the water if test results show con- tamination. He says that Gold Hill has been talking for 30 yeazs about becoming incorporated, having a water and sewer system. "It would have cost $1 million then and the engineering fundamentals haven't changed, but costs have gone up. The town can't do it on its own, but if the water is donated and there is federal money, maybe it's