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Natural Resource Restoration Project Proposal for the Tri-State Mining District

Cardinal Valley Natural Habitat Restoration Project

Submitted by the US Fish and Wildlife Service

January 2018


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Restoration Project Information Sheet

Project Information

Type of project: The purpose of this project is to restore native grassland, wetland, and woodland vegetation to the areas remediated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) within the vicinity of Webb City, Missouri.

Project name: Cardinal Valley Natural Habitat Restoration Project

Location: The site is located in an around Webb City, MO. See attached map.

County: Jasper County

Watershed: Center Creek

Project size: 275 acres, approximately


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Introduction and Background

The federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) authorizes claims for “damages for injury to, destruction of, or loss of natural resources” as a result of the release of a hazardous substance [42 U.S.C § 9607(a)(4)(C)]. Any compensation received as a result of resolving a claim for natural resource damages must be used for “the restoration, rehabilitation, or replacement or acquisition of the equivalent of” any lost natural resources or their services [42 U.S.C. §9607(a)(4)(C)]. This CERCLA process is referred to as natural resource damage assessment and restoration (NRDAR), the goal of which is to compensate the public for the loss of resources and their services resulting from a release of a hazardous substance.

Missouri Trustees and the Trustee Council

CERCLA, and its implementing regulations, designate federal and state authorities to act on behalf of the public as trustees for natural resources, including supporting ecosystems, belonging to, managed by, controlled by, or appertaining to such state, or by the United States. [42 U.S.C. § 9607(f); 40 C.F.R. § 300.600 and § 300.605]. Per these authorities, the Governor of the State of Missouri has appointed the director of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MODNR) as the designated state trustee, while the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is acting as the federal trustee on behalf of the U.S. Department of the Interior in the Tri State Mining District (TSMD, collectively “Trustees”). The Trustees formed a Trustee Council by a Memorandum of Understanding. The Trustee Council coordinates activities for both assessing injuries to natural resources and their services and the restoration, replacement, rehabilitation, or acquisition of the equivalent of the lost natural resources and their services upon receipt of compensation from potentially responsible parties.

Restoration Plan

Pursuant to CERCLA, the Trustees developed the Springfield Plateau Regional Restoration Plan (SPRRP) which provides a process framework that governs the approach for restoration project identification, evaluation, selection and implementation [42 U.S.C. § 9611(i)]. The SPRRP is available at https://www.fws.gov/midwest/es/ec/NRDA/MoTriState/index.html. As part of the restoration process, an agency member of the Trustee Council may submit proposal(s) for restoration projects to be evaluated by the larger Trustee Council in accordance with the factors discussed in the SPRRP.

Site Background and Overview This project takes place within the Center Creek watershed, a tributary to the Spring River, within Jasper County, Missouri. Past smelting and mineral processing operations from ASARCO LLC and others left numerous chat deposits contaminated with high concentrations of heavy metals. As a result of the heavy metals concentrations, much of


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this area has been undergoing response actions led by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) to clean up the contamination. In turn, the remedial actions have created large areas scraped clean of topsoil, generally with elevated residual levels of zinc, and sometimes lead and cadmium.

Project Proposal

The proposed primary restoration action is to directly restore injured natural resources and their services lost from historic mining activities and remedial clean-up. If approved by the Trustees, the project would be funded by monies received from the ASARCO settlement for Jasper County and consist of the application of soil amendments to mine scarred lands in order to establish native vegetation and restore habitat function.

Project Description This proposal seeks to provide funding for the restoration of lands owned by the City of Webb City for the purpose of restoration and preservation. The project site consists of areas where mining related heavy metals and remedial actions have resulted in severe injuries to natural resources. Remedial clean-up did not provide for replacement soils following excavation of mine wastes leaving behind barren and unproductive lands. The project area is focused on these barren areas where concentrations of zinc can exceed 1000ppm, which is sufficient to cause reductions in plant growth. Soils in these areas will require organic amendments in order to reduce zinc toxicity, support healthy vegetation and provide suitable habitat. Since acquisition of lands is ongoing, an exact acreage for lands to be restored is not known at this time, but the Trustees have approximated the project to consist of restoration of 275 acres of formerly mined land. Costs are figured on a per-acre basis, or for the production of compost, on a per-tonnage basis. General restoration activity: Site-specific management plans may require different activities for varying areas of the restoration site. This subsection describes the default restoration activities that will generally take place in upland settings. Areas must first be scouted for invasive weeds and those weeds must be treated through herbicide spraying or cultural practices. After weeds have been satisfactorily controlled, ideally in the fall, the soil will be roughed up through tillage or other mechanical means (if possible). A soil amendment (compost) will be applied to the soil in the dormant season to reduce odor issues. Pilot studies conducted by the Trustees have determined the most effective material for use as a soil amendment should be a cow manure-based soil amendment consisting of a manure and biosolids mixture, 10:1 by volume, that would be composted with equal parts woody material for a period of time long enough to comply with Part 503 land application standards. Ideally the composting process should eradicate any weed seeds within the mix. The final product should include coarse particles up to an inch in diameter in order to be more resistant to erosion and have


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increased longevity. The ratio of materials may be modified somewhat as long as the finished product contains no more than 1000ppm of zinc. Up to 160 dry tons/acre of compost would be applied in a three year period in the same area. Lime will be mixed into the windrowed compost in its final stage in an amount sufficient to bring amended soil pH up to 7.3 or above. Soils in the area range from 4.3 to 7.1 and will require a wide range of lime application. Ideally, seeding will occur in late fall, at least a week after application of soil amendments, and seed will be drilled or broadcast. The seed mix for an area will be specified by the Trustees, but will generally consist of five pounds total of grasses and sedges and forbs per acre. All seed should be of local ecotype, no greater than 200 miles from Webb City. Depending on timing of compost application, a cover crop/smother crop may need to be seeded to prevent weed colonization prior to the seeding of natives. Maintenance: The first year after the seeding of natives, follow-up mowing at around six inches will need to occur when weeds reach 12-18 inches in height, typically three to four times to reduce the growth of weedy competition. During the second year, mowing may be needed two to three times at 12 inches. Spot spraying may be needed to prevent infestation of invasive weeds. After the second year, burning or haying (or grazing) may be implemented to maintain the integrity of the prairie. Areas containing streams or within 50 feet of the stream bank should be managed as riparian areas and will not receive soil amendments containing manure or biosolids. Historically, the areas north of Hawthorne Road were more wooded (near Center Creek), while the areas south of Hawthorne Road (near Ben’s Branch) were predominantly prairie. Seed mixes for these areas will reflect this change in community type. The Trustees intentions for these sensitive areas would be the use of mulch or non-biosolids amendments, if needed.

Project Location

This project will take place in the watershed and floodplain of Center Creek, a sub-watershed of the Spring River. The restoration properties are owned by Webb City, as is the facility that would produce compost. The areas to receive compost are those that have been remediated by the EPA or that have elevated levels of metals (zinc) that were left undisturbed by EPA. See below for a map of the general area.


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Connection to the Injured Resources This proposed project is intended to address natural resources that the Trustees have identified as injured by releases of heavy metals in the TSMD, such as soils, riparian areas, wetlands, vegetation, migratory birds and their habitat. The proposed project will indirectly help restore aquatic habitat by providing cleaner and more natural rates of run-off within the streams in the restoration area.


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Project Benefits • Restores native habitat to the riparian zone of the Ben’s Branch, which is a

stream injured from historical and ongoing releases of metals such as lead, cadmium and zinc from lead mining practices in Jasper County.

• Replacement of ragweed and invasive weeds with native vegetation will increase habitat and structure diversity and robustness for the benefit of wildlife.

Qualified project sponsors

• The Trustees have staff that develop, plan and execute land and resource

management, and restoration activities as part of Natural Resource Damage (NRD) operations. In addition to NRD staff, FWS has other specialists to assist with vegetation identification and project oversight and implementation. Webb City has staff knowledgeable about the composting process as well as implementing prairie and wetland restoration practices.

Proposed Budget

Costs Category Description Amount Acres Total Agency

Baseline and annual vegetation, soil metals, and wildlife monitoring surveys and reporting,

Salary Travel Indirect

Costs taken from Trustee staff salaries

275 $0

FWS, DNR

Soil agronomic monitoring

Soil test for pH, organic matter, every 20 acres for baseline and follow up

$15/test 275 $420

FWS, DNR

Pollinator monitoring

Pollinator or insect survey, pre and post restoration 1

$1155 for survey , 3 surveys pre and post application

275 $6930

contractor

Soil amendments

Compost2 160 dry tons/ac or 190 moist tons/ac or 190 cu yds/ac Lime4 0.5 to 10 dry tons/ac

$950/ac3 (52,250 cu yds for project) $5.31/ton

275

275

$261,250

$6875

Webb City Contractor


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Hauling and spreading

Hauling5 and dumping compost 190 yds/ac up to 5 mi

Grade6 areas after compost deposited

$950/ac $178/ac

275

275

$261,250

$48,950

Contractor Webb City

Seeding

Cover Crop7 Spring oats 75lb/ac

Native Seed8 mix 5lb grass+sedge + forbs/ac Reseeding if needed 1lb grass/sedge + 1lb forbs/ac

$33/ac $125/ac $125/ac

275 275 55

$9075 $34,375

$ 6875

Webb City

Vegetation management

Herbicide9 Mowing10 Burning

$115.60/ac 275 $31,790

Webb City

Personnel11

Seasonal help , 5000hrs for 3 years Fringe

$10.30/hr 17.1%

275 $51,500

$8807 Webb City

Total With 20% contingency

$2651/ac $728,097 $873,716

1 $1155 for survey on Joplin Prairie 8ac tract, start baseline in yr 2 for ease of contracting 2 Assumes dry compost = 1685lbs, 1cu yd moist compost=1 moist ton (William e-mail 2-7-18)

3 St. Peters: $8.65 per cubic yard for greater than 4,000 cubic yards class A compost or $5.00 per cubic yd if you have a "resident privilege" card 4 Assumed ave rate of 5T/ac, price from Randy Haas e-mail 2-14-18, assumed WC hauling to site without cost 5 From Eric: the cost to load and haul soil up to five miles runs about $4 cubic yard, pushing out at the site is another $1-2 /yd Alternate calculations: from Dave, cost of sediment hauling is $0.29 cu yd /mi , and using ave roundtrip distance of 5mi, $0.29 x 5mi x 52,250yd = $75,763 for hauling from IEc,cost for 175tons/ac soil amendments purchased, hauled, and land applied= $7890/ac or $2,169,750 for 275ac project 6 From EPA EQM contract for Jasper Co 7 Hancock seed co, 75lbs/ac rate 8 From Randys e-mail 1-26-18, then cut in half based on Malissa Briggler’s info 9 From WC budget mod, combo of 4 types of herbicide used, should last 3+ years 10 Trustees have paid for equipment for mowing and burning already, these items should be free except for staff time 11 From FWS budget mod


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Project Partner Contributions

Webb City will provide equipment for certain activities such as mowing and burning and other management practices, as this equipment has already been paid for with NRDA Trustee funds. NRDA funds will be used to compensate Webb City for items and services not previously funded though NRDA programs. For instance, although remedial funds will be used to fund compost-making equipment, the Trustees would expect to pay for the compost product so as to compensate Webb City for the staff time, equipment wear, hauling costs, etc. that go into making the compost product, and applying it to the landscape. It is understood that the city biosolids, stockyard manure, and woody debris are free products, although some handling and processing (such as woodchipping and delivery to the composting facility) will be needed. It is also understood that Webb City currently must pay to dry and haul their sludge to the landfill, and these costs can be avoided by using the sludge for this project. Monitoring Requirements

A Trustee council representative will inspect the progress of the plantings twice a year for five years total. Each Fall, the vegetation will be identified in quadrats established throughout the restoration areas. In the summer, bird point counts will be conducted in select areas as a measure of resident migratory bird success, as will pollinator surveys. Rapid protocol wildlife monitoring will also be conducted in select areas. Soil will be tested as the project progresses to monitor pH and organic matter levels.

Timeline

The project will begin with baseline monitoring in early to mid - 2018 with proposed completion of seeding of vegetation within 3 years, and some vegetation management continuing into 2021. The long term monitoring and management of the site will be handled under a separate contract, most likely to be combined with the management of capped areas within Webb City already in the restoration process. Design determining baseline vegetation surveys, soil nutrient testing, and placement of material will be completed in year one. Re-vegetation of some of the areas may be necessary depending on the success of the plantings, weather conditions, etc., but have not been predicted on the charts below.

Activity Project Lead 2018

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11

12

Field prep- mow/spray 75 ac


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Make compost Baseline wildlife monitoring Soil nutrient sampling/xrf screening on 75 ac Land-apply compost on 75 ac

Spread, disk in lime on 75 ac Seed cover crop (if needed) on 75ac

Seed natives on 75 ac 2019

Seed natives on 75 ac Make compost Mow at 6” on 75 ac Spot spray on 75 ac Wildlife monitoring on 75 ac Baseline wildlife monitoring on 76-175 ac Soil nutrient sampling/xrf screening on 76-175 ac Land-apply compost on 76-175 ac Spread, disk in lime on 76-175 ac Seed cover crop (if needed) on 76-175 ac Seed natives on 76-175 ac

2020

Seed natives on 76-175 ac Make compost Mow at 6” on 75 ac Spot spray on 75 ac Wildlife monitoring on 75 ac wildlife monitoring on 76-175 ac Mow at 6” on 76-175 ac Spot spray on 76-175 ac Baseline wildlife monitoring on 176-275 ac Soil nutrient sampling/xrf screening on 176-275 ac Land-apply compost on 176-275 ac Spread, disk in lime on 176-275 ac Seed cover crop (if needed) on 176-275 ac Seed natives on 176-275 ac


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2021 Seed natives on 176-275 ac Spot spray on 75 ac Wildlife monitoring on 75 ac wildlife monitoring on 76-175 ac Mow at 6” on 76-175 ac Spot spray on 76-175 ac wildlife monitoring on 176-275 ac Mow at 6”on 176-275 ac Spot spray on 176-275 ac

Deed Restrictions

All of the restoration areas will have an environmental covenant/deed restriction placed on them that shall remain with the property in perpetuity, even if the property is sold. The DNR will hold a third party right of enforcement for the conservation easement on the property.

Measures of Success

Vegetation diversity, wildlife diversity, and soil fertility will be compared to baseline surveys to measure success and guide future management. At the end of the restoration timeframe, the Trustees will write a management plan directing the future activities needed to maintain quality habitat on the parcels.

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