Region 8
Serving Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming and 27 Tribal Nations
What's being done in Region 8
Revitalization = Remediation, Restoration and Reuse
EPA Region 8 has used many of its programs to help revitalize contaminated and damaged areas. Past successes include forging a world-class golf course out of an area once contaminated by heavy metals from past copper smelting activities in Anaconda, Montana, and transforming a radioactive soils site in Denver into a Home Depot store. In Salt Lake City, because of EPA's efforts to help state and local interests assess and clean up properties, the once dilapidated Gateway District is now thriving with commercial businesses and residences. EPA has also made a difference by working with diverse stakeholders to restore rivers and streams and supporting watershed plans that revitalize larger-scale areas of the West.
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More can be done. The challenge today is to achieve these types of successes across all EPA cleanup activities. Region 8's Land and Water Revitalization Initiative focuses on multi-program planning to maximize site remediation, restoration and reuse. By combining two or more programs at a site or watershed cleanup, EPA can apply an approach that assesses the extent of environmental problems more comprehensively. This also leverages a wider range of resources and solutions to achieve cleanup and restoration goals. These efforts will provide more certainty and comfort to local governments, communities and businesses about the land, the water and their readiness for reuse. Programs involved in Revitalization include:
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The "Valley Floor" near Telluride, Colorado on the San Miguel River is an area of redevelopment focus in Region 8. EPA has assisted the local community in several technical and land use efforts. |