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Sites in Reuse in Colorado
California Gulch
In the historic mining town of Leadville, Colorado, EPA, the state, local communities, and mining companies are working to clean up the California Gulch Superfund site, enabling the town's growing tourism industry to flourish. Begininning in 1857, Leadville was mined extensively for lead, gold, silver, copper, zinc, and manganese. EPA became involved at the site, because the mining operations left tailings contaminated with heavy metals that entered the soils and Arkansas River. This prompted EPA to add the site to its list of hazardous waste sites needing cleanup in 1983. The rich mining heritage and other attractions at Leadville draw thousands of tourists every year and inspired the creation of the 12-mile Mineral Belt Bike Path. This unique bike path loops around historic mine tailing piles and mining artifacts within the California Gulch site. During the winter, the path is groomed and enjoyed as a trail for recreational skiers -- making it a year-round attraction. In addition to building the bike path, EPA and the state signed two agreements in 1998 that ensure public access to open space on the site. Through these arrangements, the Colorado Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation purchased a 315-acre ranch, and the City of Aurora purchased a 2,000-acre ranch. The ranches stretch along the Arkansas River and, as designated by the agreements, will be used as parks, wildlife habitat, and for recreational activities.
For more information:
- Case Study (10 pp, 1.1MB, About PDF)
- 2006 Return to Use Demonstration Project (PDF) (2 pp, 199K)
- CERCLIS Superfund Site Profile
Central City-Clear Creek
A Superfund site encompassing the former mining towns of Central City and Black Hawk is being transformed into one of Colorado's largest gambling resorts following the cleanup of mining wastes. For almost a century, the vast deposits of gold and silver ores in the Clear Creek region of Colorado supported a profitable mining industry, spurring the boom towns of Central City and Black Hawk. However, in the early 1900s, business in Central City and Black Hawk dramatically declined, leaving the towns with a weakened economy and deteriorating infrastructure. The mining industry also left behind mine tailings and waste rock that contaminated the Clear Creek watershed. In 1983, EPA added the site to its list of hazardous waste sites needing cleanup. After Colorado amended its laws to allow gaming in the former mining towns, EPA and the state worked with casinos developers to clean up contaminated land within the two towns to support casinos, hotels, and restaurants. Today, the redevelopment of the site has led to jobs and tax revenues for the local economy in amounts unheard of since the gold rush more than a century before. The cleanup also protects the Clear Creek watershed, which is used for drinking water, agriculture, and recreation.
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Denver Radium
When Home Depot USA, Inc., wanted to build a new retail store in downtown Denver, Colorado, a portion of the Denver Radium Superfund site was selected for the store's home. Once the location of a radium processing plant, the site now provides jobs, and provides local residents with shopping opportunities. From the early 1900s to the late 1920s, a radium processing plant operated on the property, leaving behind radioactive soils and debris. As property ownership, industry, and land use changed, contaminants remained scattered about the site. This led EPA to add the site to its list of hazardous waste sites needing cleanup in 1983. A flexible cleanup plan was designed by EPA and the State of Colorado to protect human health and the environment while allowing for the future redevelopment of the site. Contaminated soils have been covered with a protective soil cap designed to support the construction and maintenance of the store's parking lot. A key to the successful redevelopment of the site is that EPA removed Home Depot's concern of being held responsible for previous contamination at the site while ensuring that the soil cap is maintained and people are protected from exposure to any contaminants.
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National Tunnel Waste Dump and Clay County Mine
A Superfund site encompassing the former mining town of Black Hawk is being transformed into a gambling resort following the cleanup of mining wastes. For almost a century, the vast deposits of gold and silver ores in the Clear Creek region of Colorado supported a profitable mining industry, spurring the boom towns of Black Hawk. However, in the early 1900s, business in Black Hawk dramatically declined, leaving the town with a weakened economy and deteriorating infrastructure. In 1983, two areas within the city limits, the National Tunnel Waste Dump and Clay County Mine Tailings, were designated as priority cleanup areas of the Central City-Clear Creek Superfund hazardous waste site. These two areas have been cleaned up and speculators are once again attracted to Black Hawk, not for mining but to purchase and build casinos. In 1990, to help turn around the economies of former mining towns like Black Hawk, the State of Colorado passed landmark legislation allowing small stakes gambling. Although the gaming law spurred the regrowth of the town, the partnerships formed by EPA, the state and local governments, and the casino developers, resulted in the cleanup of land critical to the economic growth of the area. In addition to providing a place to build the casinos, the cleanup protected Clear Creek and nearby scenic mountains, allowing rafters, fisherman, and kayakers to continue to enjoy the area's recreational opportunities.
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Rocky Mountain Arsenal
In Commerce City, Colorado, the Rocky Mountain Arsenal, one of the worst hazardous waste sites in the country, is being transformed into one of the largest urban national wildlife refuges. In the early 1940s, the U.S. Army used a small portion of the site to produce chemical weapons. Later, the Shell Chemical Company produced pesticides at the site. In 1987, EPA added the site to its list of hazardous waste sites needing cleanup. Today, EPA, the Army, Shell Oil, and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment are performing a major environmental cleanup to address the contaminated ground water, surface water, soils, and buildings. Under the management of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the 27 square miles of open space surrounding the manufacturing facility are providing a home to nearly 300 species of wildlife, including birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. As cleanup moves forward, USFWS is making areas of the site available for environmental education and wildlife viewing for 30,000 yearly visitors. After the cleanup is complete, the site will become a permanent part of the National Wildlife Refuge System, as designated by the 1992 Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge Act. Just 10 miles northeast of downtown Denver, the Rocky Mountain Arsenal will be the largest urban wildlife refuge in the country.
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Smuggler Mountain
The Smuggler Mountain Mine in Aspen has become a new tourist attraction for Colorado travelers. The mine began production in 1880 and soon became known as one of the richest silver mines in the world. In 1981, a local college student, who was looking at nutrients in the soil, found high lead and cadmium levels in the soil at the site. EPA was informed, and in 1986, the site was added to EPA's list of hazardous waste sites needing cleanup. Following listing, EPA removed soil from around the residential area. This cleanup allowed a local company to reopen the mine in an effort to extract more silver. While the search for silver continues, the company has also opened the mine for tourists and is now earning income from this new activity.
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Summitville Mine
High near the timberline in the San Juan Range of the Colorado Rockies, EPA and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment are working to reclaim and revegetate more than 500 acres of land scarred by a long history of mining. The 1,400-acre Summitville Mine Superfund site is the result of gold mining that released cyanide and acidic, metals-laden mine water into the headwaters of the Alamosa River, poisoning the river and threatening farmlands and ecosystems. The Alamosa River and its tributaries flow from the mine through wetlands, a forest, agricultural land, and into the Terrace Reservoir, which supplies irrigation water to livestock and nearby potato, alfalfa, and barley farms. In 1994, EPA placed the site on its list of hazardous waste sites needing cleanup. Although the cleanup is not complete, work is well underway to permanently stabilize the site and to reverse the effects of mining while restoring the ecosystems and protecting farmlands. The site has been revegetated with grasses that promote the recolonization of native plants. EPA and the state are capturing and treating tainted water before releasing it into the Alamosa River. The Alamosa River, void of all life since 1990 due to the contamination from the Summitville Mine, now supports some types of aquatic life and may once again become a fishery.
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