Hurley Soils Investigation Unit-Chino Administrative Order on Consent
New Mexico Environment Department Announces Performance Review for the Hurley Soils Investigation Unit of the Chino Administrative Order on Consent
June 2024
PUBLIC NOTICE
The New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) will conduct a Performance Review as required by CERCLA § 121 to evaluate the implementation and performance of the soil removal remedy. The purpose of the review is to determine the continued protectiveness of the soil removal remedial action for the Hurley Soils Investigation Unit of the Chino Administrative Order on Consent. The Chino Administrative Order on Consent is an agreement between Chino Mines Company, a holding of Freeport McMoRan Inc., and NMED to investigate potential contamination related to historic mining operations and to remediate contamination as necessary to protect human health and the environment.
The Hurley Soils Investigation Unit (HSIU) Remedial Investigation (RI) indicated that surface soil in the town of Hurley contained elevated concentrations of metal, primarily copper, as a result of historic ore processing operations. The HSIU Human Health Risk Assessment (HHRA) determined that children may be at risk due to incidental ingestion of elevated copper concentrations found in Hurley in soils.
Chino Mines Company proposed an Interim Remedial Action (IRA) to remove contaminated soil from Hurley properties in a Work Plan dated September 2005. NMED approved the IRA Work Plan in April 2006 and the soil removal was completed in the summer of 2007. Chino submitted an IRA Completion Report (IRACR) in January 2008 and the IRACR was approved by NMED in April 2008.
Following the IRA, NMED developed a Record of Decision (ROD) based on the information provided in the RI, IRACR and other documents in the Administrative Record. The completion of the IRA significantly reduced the potential risk to children from incidental ingestion of elevated copper concentrations in soil. Therefore, the ROD selected the No Action Remedy and no further action beyond the work completed under the IRA is required. As a follow up to the ROD, Chino Mines remediated additional Hurley sites in June 2014 and in June 2019, not addressed in the 2007 work due to access complications. Chino submitted Completion Reports (CR) for these supplemental IRAs in January 2015 and June 2020, respectively, and were approved by NMED in May 2015 and August 2020, respectively.
The ROD, RI, HHRA, IRA CR(s) and other documents are available for review in the local Administrative Record repositories at the following libraries: Bayard Public Library and Miller Library at Western New Mexico University. In addition, most documents generated since 2014 are available electronically at: https://www.fcx.com/chinoÂ
This Performance Review will evaluate if the IRA soil removal remedy has been effective in reducing the potential risk of incidental ingestion of copper in soil by children. NMED welcomes any comments and concerns regarding the efficacy of the remedy prior to finalizing the HSIU Performance Review Report.
The public comment period begins June 28, 2024, and ends July 31, 2024. Written comments should be submitted to:
David Mercer, Chino AOC Project Manager, New Mexico Environment Department, 3082 32nd Street Bypass, Suite D, Silver City, New Mexico 88061, (505) 372-8545 or
