Superfund Sites in Reuse in Colorado
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Broderick Wood Products
The Broderick Wood Products (BWP) Superfund site is located north of Denver, Colorado in unincorporated Adams County. BWP operated a wood-treating facility from 1947 to 1982 at the site. BWP treated power poles, fence posts, railroad ties and other wood products on the 64-acre property. Operators disposed of hazardous waste from the process in two unlined impoundments on site. In 1984, EPA listed the site on the Superfund program’s National Priorities List (NPL) due to contaminated groundwater, soil and sludge. Broderick Investment Company (BIC), the potentially responsible party, completed the bulk of the cleanup between 1989 and 1994. In 2003 and 2004, Union Pacific Railroad worked with EPA, the State and BIC to construct a rail line embankment across the site. As part of this project, parties made improvements to existing cleanup systems. In 2005, BIC constructed a second access road at the northern boundary. This road served as the primary access point and helped facilitate redevelopment of the site. In January 2007, BIC sold the majority of the site to Scott Contracting. In 2013, Scott Contracting sold the land to Brannon Sand & Gravel.
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California Gulch
For more information:
- Recreation and Tourism Reuse and the Benefit to Community: California Gulch Case Study (2014) (PDF) (13 pp, 1.1 MB, About PDF)
- Video: Making a Difference in Communities: California Gulch Superfund Site, Leadville, Colorado Exit
- Video: California Gulch: From Metals to Medals Exit
- Video: California Gulch: Revitalizing the Future of a Mining Mega Site Exit
- Superfund Site Profile Page
Central City, Clear Creek
The 400-square-mile Central City, Clear Creek Superfund site includes the former mining towns of Central City and Black Hawk, Colorado. For almost a century, vast deposits of gold and silver ores in the area supported a profitable mining industry. In the early 1900s, business in Central City and Black Hawk dramatically declined. This decline left the towns with a weakened economy and deteriorating infrastructure. The mining industry also left behind waste rock and mine tailings that contaminated the Clear Creek watershed. In 1983, EPA added the site to the Superfund program’s National Priorities List (NPL). In partnership with the State, EPA conducted the cleanup in stages. After Colorado amended its laws to allow gaming in the former mining towns, parties worked with casino developers to clean up portions within the two towns so the property could support casinos, hotels and restaurants. As parties developed the former mining property for the casinos, they carried out cleanup actions. In 2009, the federal government awarded the site $2.16 million in American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) funding. This funding supported the consolidation and capping of additional mine waste piles, implementation of sediment and drainage controls, and water treatment to restore Clear Creek. One goal of the site’s cleanup is to protect the Clear Creek watershed. The watershed provides recreational opportunities to the community, including rafting, kayaking and fishing. Cleanup efforts continue at the site.
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Chemical Sales Co.
The 5-square-mile Chemical Sales Co. (CSC) Superfund site is located in a mainly light-industrial area of Denver, Colorado. Residential, commercial and municipal land uses are located within the site. CSC, a wholesale distributor of commercial and industrial chemicals, detergents and water leisure products, began occupying the warehouse in 1976. CSC activities led to the contamination of soil on the warehouse property and area groundwater. In 1989, EPA removed leaking and corroded drums from the CSC property. EPA listed the site on the Superfund program’s National Priorities List (NPL) in 1990. Acting on behalf of EPA, the State began additional cleanup actions in 1989. Treatment of groundwater and soil vapors continue. Between 1986 and 1995, the public water district connected over 400 residences to the municipal water supply. Groundwater and land use restrictions are in place at the site. ACME Metals purchased the property from CSC in 1995. ACME Metals continues to operate on the site.
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Denver Radium Site
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Eagle Mine
The Eagle Mine Superfund site is located in Eagle County, Colorado, about 1 mile from Minturn and 75 miles west of Denver. Beginning in the 1880s, the 110-acre Eagle Mine site operated as a gold and silver mine. In 1938, Eagle Mine transitioned to support zinc mining, which left high levels of metals in the soil, surface water and groundwater. In 1977, zinc mining operations ended. Copper and silver mining and production continued at Eagle Mine until it closed in 1984. EPA added the site to the Superfund program’s National Priorities List (NPL) in 1986. Cleanup included the removal of contaminated soils and sediments; the containment of mine seepage and run-off; the monitoring of surface water, groundwater, pool water and stream water; and land use controls. The potentially responsible party conducted most cleanup actions between 1989 and 2001. After cleanup, community members began using the adjacent Eagle River again for recreational purposes, such as fishing. In 2004, a developer purchased 750 acres of site property with the intention of building a private, residential golf course community. In 2009, a new developer took over the project with less ambitious redevelopment plans. EPA and the State are currently working with the developer to make sure that all necessary investigation and cleanup steps occur to prepare the property for residential redevelopment. Groundwater treatment and monitoring continues at the site.
Lincoln Park
For more information:
- Lincoln Park, Fremont County, Colorado - Reuse Assessment (PDF)(8 pp, 12.2 MB, About PDF)
- Superfund Site Profile Page
Lowry Landfill
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Marshall Landfill
The 160-acre Marshall Landfill Superfund site is located in Boulder, Colorado. Starting in 1965, the landfill accepted sewage sludge and unknown wastes in addition to municipal waste. City officials raised concerns about contamination of chemicals and dissolved metals in drinking water supplies. As a result, EPA added the site to the Superfund program’s National Priorities List (NPL) in 1983. Cleanup activities have included operating a groundwater treatment system and maintaining the landfill cover. Groundwater monitoring is ongoing. In 1986, EPA required tracking additional chemical compounds in groundwater samples. Remedy construction reached completion in August 1993. In 2013, solar developer Clean Energy Collective completed construction of a 500-kilowatt solar project adjacent to the site. EPA helped facilitate the location of the solar array, while ensuring that groundwater monitoring functioned properly. In 2010, legislation passed requiring tax rebates for community-owned solar programs. The project is the first community solar program of Xcel Energy’s Clean Energy Collective. Builders projected the solar array will produce 830,000 kilowatts of power in the first year, and reduce carbon dioxide output by 15,000 tons in the first 20 years. The site demonstrates how reuse can be effectively coordinated with remedy components.
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Rocky Mountain Arsenal (USARMY)
The Rocky Mountain Arsenal (USARMY) Superfund site is located just 10 miles northeast of downtown Denver, Colorado. The once-contaminated site now provides visitors with recreational and educational opportunities and local wildlife a place to call home. The site’s successful transformation into the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge and visitor center included an extensive cleanup to address contamination from prior military operations and pesticide manufacturing. As early as 1942, the U.S. Army used the property for the production of chemical weapons such as mustard gas, white phosphorus and napalm. Just after World War II, the Shell Chemical Company leased portions of the site for the production of pesticides. Common industrial and waste disposal practices during those years resulted in contamination of structures, soil, surface water and ground water. By the late 1950s, apparent crop damage north of the Rocky Mountain Arsenal was an indication of contaminated ground water. In 1987, EPA added the site to the National Priorities List (NPL). EPA, the U.S. Army, Shell Oil and the state began a major environmental cleanup to address the contaminated ground water, surface water, soil and buildings. In 1992, Congress passed the Refuge Act, which designated the transfer of cleaned-up site lands for use as a wildlife refuge. As cleanup continued, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service made areas of the site available for environmental education and wildlife viewing for visitors. EPA has completed five partial deletions at the site, removing cleaned portions of the site from the NPL. These five partial deletions created opportunities for local road expansions, the development of a 24-field soccer complex and music venue known as Prairie Gateway, and expansion of the wildlife refuge. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 provided about $3 million for a new visitor center at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal Wildlife Refuge. Thousands of visitors are reaping the benefits annually. Construction efforts for the new visitor center used green construction techniques, including recycled pavement and reflective roofing materials to reduce the need for air conditioning. The Rocky Mountain Arsenal Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center opened to visitors in May 2011. In addition, in 2009, EPA issued a Ready for Reuse (RfR) Determination for 294 acres along the northern edge of the site. The RfR Determination designated the surface as ready for residential use with appropriate operation and maintenance procedures in place.
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Smeltertown Site
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Smuggler Mountain
The 110-acre Smuggler Mountain Superfund site is located in Aspen, Colorado. Between 1879 and 1920, silver and lead mines operated on site. Mining and smelting activities created byproducts and waste materials containing metals and lead. Piles of exposed waste materials eventually spread and mixed with area soils. In the 1980s, soil analyses by residents and EPA identified high levels of lead and cadmium. To address area-wide contamination, EPA added the site to the Superfund program’s National Priorities List (NPL) in 1986. The site cleanup focused on the original mine site, Smuggler Mine, and the northeastern edge of Aspen. Pitkin County and New Smuggler Mine Corporation conducted cleanup actions. Cleanup included covering areas of mine waste and replanting those areas with vegetation. The parties also secured areas of the mine to prevent further contamination and tested blood-lead levels of area residents. After completing cleanup, EPA deleted the site from the NPL in September 1999. Cleanup under Superfund has enabled reuse and active redevelopment at the site, which includes large and small condominiums, mobile home parks, a tennis club and numerous single-family residences. The successful cleanup also allowed a local company to reopen the mine in an effort to extract silver. While silver mining activities continue, the company has opened the mine for tourist, generating income and jobs in the community.
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Summitville Mine
The 1,400-acre Summitville Mine Superfund site is a former gold mine located in Rio Grande County, Colorado. The site sits at an elevation of 11,000 feet near the timberline in the San Juan Range of the Colorado Rockies. The area served as a gold mine beginning in the late 1800s. By 1984, the Summitville Consolidated Mining Corporation Inc. began open pit mining for gold, copper and silver. Mining processes contaminated the surrounding area, including Wightman Fork Creek and Terrace Reservoir. Mining operations did not cease until the company announced pending bankruptcy and informed the State of Colorado that financial support for site operations would not continue beyond December 15, 1992. On December 16, 1992, The U.S. EPA Region 8 assumed control of the site and immediately began emergency removals of contaminated sediment and soil. EPA placed the site on the National Priorities List (NPL) in 1994. Today, EPA and the state are working to reclaim and re-vegetate 1,231 acres of the site scarred by the long history of mining, and to prevent further contamination of surrounding creeks and streams. The community has remained involved in the cleanup by hiring an independent technical advisor to review cleanup issues and help keep the community informed. During 2008, EPA Region 8 and the state made significant progress toward the installation of a hydroelectric power system at the site, completing construction of the inlet structure. In 2010, EPA Region 8 and the state built the powerhouse and installed the 35-kilowatt turbine. The plant became operational in 2011. Energy produced by the plant feeds back into the grid, offsetting the costs of operating the site remedy. In 2009, the site received $17 million in American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) funds to construct the Summitville water treatment plant. Completed in 2011, the new water treatment plant removes high metals concentrations from acid mine drainage originating at the site. Cleanup is ongoing to permanently stabilize the site and reverse the adverse effects of mining, while restoring the ecosystem and protecting farmlands.
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Uravan Uranium Project (Union Carbide Corp.)
The approximately 700-acre Uravan Uranium Project (Union Carbide Corp.) Superfund site is located in Uravan, Colorado. The site began operations as a radium-recovery plant in 1912. From the 1940s until 1984, the plant operated as a uranium and vanadium processing facility. Site activities left a large amount of waste on the site and caused the contamination of soil and ground water. EPA placed the site, which included the town of Uravan, on the National Priorities List (NPL) in 1986. The cleanup plan for the site involved moving more than 3 million cubic yards of mill wastes and contaminated materials located along the San Miguel River to secure repositories on Club Mesa. The plan also included the removal and cleanup of materials and contaminated soil from about 400 acres. As part of the cleanup, remedial crews dismantled and disposed of on-site mills and other structures, and conducted additional cleanup at the former town of Uravan. Successful cleanup of the site reached completion in 2008. Recreational activities surrounding the site include, but are not limited to, hunting, fishing, camping and rafting. Limited mine reclamation and exploration drilling activities take place in the area surrounding the site. Land use on the site is mostly fall and winter grazing of beef cattle. In the future, the potentially responsible party expects to transfer parts of the site to the Department of Energy (DOE) Legacy Management program. The DOE program will conduct long-term maintenance and surveillance of the repositories. Site stakeholders expect that the potentially responsible party will transfer other portions of the site to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Montrose County.
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Vasquez Boulevard and I-70
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