Elizabeth Mine Superfund Site, Vermont

The Elizabeth Mine, in South Strafford, was once the largest copper mine in the nation, and was still the largest in New England during WWII. Its production peaked in 1955, when it covered 850 acres (more than a square mile). When it closed in 1958, it was the last ore mine operating in Vermont. It is still being worked, though not for copper, but for its toxic legacy, as a superfund site, suffering the same fate as many mines in the nation - acid mine drainage, and the leaching of chemicals into creeks and rivers. Superfund work at the Elizabeth Mine started in 2006, and over $30 million has been spent so far.