Department of
Environmental Quality

DEQ often receives complaints or information about sites that may possibly be contaminated with hazardous waste (called a "site discovery"). These sites can include abandoned mines, rural airfields that have served as bases for aerial spraying, old landfills, illegal dumps, and abandoned industrial facilities that have known or suspected releases.

In February 2002, DEQ initiated a Preliminary Assessment Program to evaluate and prioritize assessment of potentially contaminated sites. Due to accessibility and funding considerations, priority is given to sites where potential contamination poses the most substantial threat to human health or the environment. Priority is also given on a watershed basis so that groups of mines or claims may be assessed together. 

The 2013 Preliminary Assessment Program work plan will be implemented with the cooperative agreement between DEQ and EPA.

• 2013 Preliminary Assessment Program Work Plan
• 2013 EPA/DEQ Cooperative Agreement

Remediation Options

If DEQ finds that a substantial risk does exist, one of several actions may occur.

• The current owner or responsible party may voluntarily act to abate or manage risks at the property, even though no formal agreement to do so is entered into with the government.

• If there is a responsible party who is willing to work with DEQ to manage or abate associated risks, the property owner may enter DEQ’s Voluntary Cleanup Program and implement corrective action.

• If a public entity is willing to take ownership of the site and either abate or manage risks at the site,the property may be a candidate for DEQ's Brownfields Program.

• DEQ may instigate an administrative action by issuing the responsible party (owner/operator) a Notice of Violation (NOV) consistent with the Hazardous Waste Management Act (HWMA) or Environmental Protection and Health Act (EPHA). After issuing an NOV, DEQ will seek to alleviate the existing threat and may pursue penalties for violations of state law and cost recovery.

• In the event that no responsible party exists and there is an imminent and substantial threat to human health and/or the environment, DEQ's director may declare a state of emergency. This declaration would allow DEQ to use emergency response funding to hire remediation specialists to clean up the site. Emergency response funds are drawn from penalties imposed on responsible parties who have violated the HWMA.

• If state funding is unavailable, or the site falls under federal jurisdiction, DEQ may place the site on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) National Priority List. EPA then leads the site cleanup effort.

Contact Us

If you would like to find out whether a site in your area poses a possible threat, or provide DEQ with information about a site that you suspect is contaminated, contact your nearest DEQ Regional Office.

Completed Preliminary Assessments by County

DEQ prepares preliminary assessment reports of mine sites.  DEQ's work at the mine sites listed below is in various stages of progress—for some DEQ may be looking to acquire legal access to the site; for others, DEQ may have completed a formal preliminary site assessment report and submitted to EPA for review.  Some of the mine sites listed below may also have links to engineering plans or construction completion reports for remedial action at the mine site.  Final preliminary assessment or site inspection reports are usually completed by DEQ within five to six months after a site visit has been conducted.

Note: Listed mine sites are private properties. Do not enter without owner's permission. If authorized, avoid contact with hazardous materials and respect property's historical significance.