Chevron Mining Inc., Questa Mine (Formerly Molycorp Mine)

In May of 2018, Trustees for the Site natural resource damage settlement released the final Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment (“final RP/EA”) for the Chevron Mining Inc., Questa Mine (“Site”). Five restoration projects were selected for implementation and are currently in various stages of design, implementation and closeout. The projects are described below:

This project was completed in November 2023 restoring several reaches of the Red River in the Village of Questa and includes riparian habitat restoration efforts to restore the natural dimension, pattern, and profile of the river to promote highly functioning aquatic/riparian habitat areas. Restoration activities included construction of submerged bars and several types of woody debris structures to promote healthy stream flow patterns. Adjacent riparian habitat areas were improved with plantings to help reduce erosion, enhance biodiversity, and coincide with shallow wetland features in the river’s floodplain. Restoration activities concentrated on poor and fair sections of the river. ONRT contracted with NMED to help facilitate the technical aspects of the project. Currently the Village of Questa is working on final closeout documentation for the project. NMED will conduct a final Spring monitoring survey and final project report in May 2023 to finish the project.

Restoration of the Midnight Meadows, Taos Co.

This project will restore the hydrology (including water-holding capacity), the vegetative structure, and the ecological resilience to a portion of the Midnight Meadows wetland fen. Specifically, the project will repair and/or install four riparian wetland exclosures to limit the impacts of livestock grazing and vehicles, protecting nearly one stream mile of Bitter Creek in the Carson National Forest; will install erosion control structures (rock dams, Zuni bowls, large-scale plug and pond features) in the Bitter Creek and Cabresto Creek headwaters; and will address priority restoration work on nine hectares of wetlands.  A contract with the project proponent was finalized in August 2020. Restoration activities started with mobilization of volunteers in August 2021; the volunteers the installation of 35 hand-built structures (mostly one rock dams as well as a couple of Zuni bowls) and the repair and maintenance of existing exclosures.  Additional volunteer structures as well as heavy equipment earth work and machine-built structures will be completed in the summer/fall of 2023.

Municipal Sanitary Sewer Improvements in Village of Questa, Taos Co.

This project will include extending the municipal sewer service in the Village of Questa to protect groundwater and surface water resources. The project will extend sewer main collector lines and individual service lines to numerous households that currently operate on private septic systems. Replacing septic systems, which require regular maintenance and can often leak pollutants, will reduce the risk of sewer line failures and in turn the risk of contaminating natural resources. The Village of Questa and its engineering contractor are updating the scope of work and budget for the project and the necessary surveys, easements, and engineering design plans will follow, based on the updated scope of work.

Municipal Water Supply Well in Village of Questa, Taos Co.

This project will include construction of a new municipal water supply well in the Village of Questa. The new well will draw groundwater from a deeper portion of the aquifer thus reducing the current stress to the shallow portion of the aquifer produced by the existing public water supply wells. The new well should help restore the natural flux of fresh groundwater to the shallow aquifer system from recharge areas. The construction of a deeper and better-engineered municipal well in a semi-isolated portion of the aquifer will help restore the natural flux of fresh groundwater to the shallow aquifer system from recharge areas. This will in turn protect groundwater and surface water resources and restore the groundwater quality. The Village of Questa is currently contracting an engineering firm to prepare the preliminary engineering report (PER) for the project and is pusuing additional funding as rapid construction costs in 2022 have delayed the projects implementation.

Aquatic Habitat in the Red River within Forest Service Land, Taos Co. (Not Funded)

The goal of this project was to restore aquatic habitat for the benefit of riparian natural resources (e.g., trout and other wildlife) by improving the impaired river morphology on an approximately 450-foot portion of the Red River to a more natural state. However, since the time the project was proposed in 2016, natural flooding events have changed the morphology in this portion of the river to the point where restoration activities are no longer deemed necessary per our riparian habitat experts. This portion of the Red River is now considered a functioning stream no longer in need of restoration work. Funds that were reserved for the implementation of this project have now been re-directed to expand the scope of work of the Midnight Meadows project described below.