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Superfund Program

Lincoln Park

Site Type: Final NPL Current Colorado Radiation Control License City: Cañon City County: Fremont Street Address: 0502 Fremont County Road 68 ZIP Code: 81212 EPA ID: COD042167858 SSID: 0828 Site Aliases: Uranium Mill Congressional District: 5

What's New?

Updated May 2012

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in cooperation with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), is conducting the second five-year review for Operable Unit 2 (OU2) of the Lincoln Park Superfund Site. The purpose of a five-year review is to evaluate the implementation and performance of a remedy to determine if it is or will be protective of human health and the environment. The five-year review will focus on the residential soils portion of OU2 and is scheduled to be completed by September 27, 2012.

Community members are always encouraged to share information that may help EPA and CDPHE make determinations regarding the protectiveness and effectiveness of the remedies at the site.

Two Ways to Provide Input:

1. Join us for a public availability session:
   
   

   Wednesday, May 9, 4 p.m.–6:30 p.m.
   Carnegie Public Library
   516 Macon Avenue, Cañon City

2. Contact us by phone or email:

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Site Description

The Lincoln Park Superfund Site includes the Cotter Corporation Uranium Mill, which has a Radioactive Materials License issued by the Colorado Radiation Control Program. The facility is not operating, but is working toward license termination. Historic releases to the environment were found to affect surface soils and groundwater in neighboring Lincoln Park. The site was added to the Superfund National Priorities List (NPL) in 1984. The Superfund listing includes Cotter's 2,600 acre uranium mill and areas where contamination occurred.

In 1988, the State of Colorado settled a lawsuit for natural-resource damages with Cotter Corporation. As part of the settlement, the state and Cotter agreed on how the site would be cleaned up further at Cotter's expense. EPA and the state signed a Memorandum of Understanding giving the state the lead role in overseeing the cleanup of the site.

Lincoln Park is a semi-rural community located two miles south of Cañon City, about 1.5 miles north of Cotter's property. Many of the residents have gardens and orchards and some raise livestock. The mill is in the Sand Creek drainage, which flows through Lincoln Park to the Arkansas River.

Cotter disposed of tailings and other wastes from uranium processing into unlined ponds before 1980, following the custom of the times. Contaminants leached into groundwater, then migrated to Lincoln Park, affecting local wells. Few residents use groundwater for domestic purposes. Most are connected to the Cañon City water supply. Some individuals in Lincoln Park still use groundwater to irrigate lawns and gardens.
The contaminants of concern at the site are molybdenum, uranium and uranium daughter products. Repeated exposure to molybdenum can cause increased uric acid accompanied by gout-like symptoms.
Molybdenum poisoning can be severe in cud-chewing animals that eat feed low in copper. Uranium is a radioactive metal. It occurs naturally in most rocks and soil. In its natural state, it has low levels of radioactivity. If swallowed, it can be toxic to the kidneys. Uranium breaks down or "decays" very slowly. It decays to radium through a series of chemical and radiological changes. Radium, radon gas, and polonium are among the daughter products of uranium. Selenium and sulfate are also included in the contaminants of potential concern.

Site boundary map, April 12, 2012 (PDF 1 pg, 1.9MB, about PDF)

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Site Risk

In 1958, the Cotter Corporation began milling uranium ore outside Cañon City, Colorado. Mill operations released radionuclides (radioactive particles) and metals into the environment, causing soil contamination around the mill itself, as well as groundwater contamination in the nearby community of Lincoln Park.

Cotter has been cleaning up the contamination, under a radioactive-materials license and a court settlement with the State of Colorado, as well as with EPA oversight. The company resumed milling operations in May 1999.

Media Affected	Contaminants	Source of Contamination
air, groundwater, surface water, soil	molybdenum, uranium, uranium daughter products	uranium milling operations

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Cleanup Progress

Cleanup occurs under the joint authorities of the Radioactive Materials License, the court-ordered Consent Decree of the state's Natural Resource Damage suit, and the Superfund National Priorities List program. EPA and CDPHE signed a Record of Decision recommending no further action for residential soils in 2002.

The state oversees activities under a Remedial Action Plan (RAP) that was developed as part of the Consent Decree in the mid-1980s. The RAP requires Cotter to perform site cleanup actions, monitor groundwater and air, and to conduct additional studies. The RAP is incorporated into the Federal Consent Decree (CD) for Civil Action No. 83-C-2389. The RAP was also incorporated into Cotter's Radioactive Materials License in 1987. Cleanup and monitoring under the RAP began in 1988 and continues today. Cleanup takes place concurrent with ongoing license activities.

Exposures beyond Cotter's property are managed by the following measures:

• A water use survey identified existing users of contaminated groundwater (late 1980s).
• Continuing review of new wells of record at the state engineer's office, reported annually in the Cotter As Low as is Reasonably Achievable (ALARA) report to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE).
• Provision of alternate water supply as appropriate (ongoing responsibility).
• Nine thousand cubic yards of contaminated tailings, soil and sediment were excavated from 1.25 miles of Sand Creek (Sand Creek Soil Cleanup Action) from 1993 to 1999.

The first five-year review of the site in 2007 indicated these measures are protective; however, ongoing protectiveness is uncertain because of the long timeframe since the last water use survey in the neighborhood and a lack of formal institutional controls on groundwater use. An updated water use survey was conducted in 2008.

Source areas have been managed by the following activities:

• A main impoundment which included a liner system was constructed in 1979.
• Two and one-half million cubic yards of tailings from unlined impoundments were excavated and disposed in the main (lined) impoundment, 1981–1983.
• Additional contaminated soil was excavated to the top of bedrock in the old, unlined impoundments and disposed in the main (lined) impoundment, 1989.
• Flushing and chemical fixation of the Old Tailings Ponds Area, 1996–1997, was found to be ineffective.

Migration of contaminants beyond Cotter's property is mitigated by the following:

• A subsurface hydraulic barrier and groundwater collection system was installed upstream of the SCS dam. Groundwater and surface water was collected in a sump and discharged into the main (lined) impoundment (1988).
• Construction of a permeable reactive treatment wall (PRTW) at the Soil Conservation Service Dam (2000). This wall was successful for a short time, and then became cemented by precipitation within the wall.
• The PRTW was retrofitted (after evidence of fouling) to allow collection of groundwater up-gradient of the PRTW with conveyance and discharge to the main (lined) impoundment (2004).
• The Wolf Park Mine Shaft, connecting to coal mine workings beneath the facility area, was backfilled in 1978.
• Monitoring of groundwater, surface water, soil, vegetation and air is ongoing and reported annually in Cotter's report to CDPHE.
• Assessment of groundwater migration under the Shadow Hills Golf Course is in progress through the State Radiation License.

Other:

• The state determined wastes from the Li Tungsten Superfund Site in Maywood, New Jersey could not be processed at the site in 2002. This decision was upheld in court in late 2007. Cotter determined it would not appeal the decision.
• The Cotter lab was closed down in 2002 and reopened in 2006 after state reviews. The Quality Assurance Plan, which describes how decision-quality data will be collected and produced, is being updated in 2008.
• State groundwater standards were established for uranium and molybdenum at 30 μg/l and 35 μg/l, respectively, effective May 2008.

Cleanup and monitoring under the RAP continue with state oversight. In January 2002, EPA issued a Record of Decision (ROD) for No Further Action for surface soils within Lincoln Park. This decision was made because previous surface-soil cleanup activities eliminated or reduced risks to acceptable levels. However, there has been activity involving the Cotter uranium milling facility since that time.

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Community Involvement

Community involvement plays an important role in the Superfund process. EPA uses a number of different tools and resources to promote effective, on-going, meaningful community involvement. The goals of the Superfund community involvement program are to:

• Keep communities affected by sites informed throughout the cleanup process.
• Provide opportunities for communities to comment and offer their input about site cleanup plans.
• Facilitate the resolution of community issues tied to a site.

Cañon City area residents are actively involved in the remediation of the Cotter Mill/Lincoln Park Superfund Site. A Citizens Advisory Group (CAG) meets monthly in Cañon City and provides a forum for citizens to present opinions and for CDPHE and EPA regulatory officials to present current information.

In 2005, Colorado Citizens Against Toxic Waste (CCAT) was awarded a Technical Assistance Grant (TAG) from EPA. The TAG provides funds to hire an independent technical advisor to help inform the community. CDPHE and EPA also issue newsletters and fact sheets, and interview citizens to ensure that the concerns of the community are heard by the regulatory agencies.

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Reuse

EPA places a high priority on land reuse as part of its Superfund response program mission. The agency tries to select cleanup options that encourage and support future use of a site. EPA uses two fundamental methods to facilitate reuse of Superfund sites:

• Exploring future uses before the cleanup remedy is implemented, an approach that gives the Agency the best chance of designing cleanup remedies to support the likely future use of a site.
• Working with landowners and communities to remove barriers not considered necessary for the protection of human health or the environment at those sites where remedies are already in place.

One option for reuse is the siting of clean and renewable energy projects on contaminated (or formerly contaminated) lands. As part of this effort, EPA is evaluating the potential for energy projects on these properties and working with landowners and communities to identify ways to remove barriers to such projects.

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Land Use Controls and Other Institutional Controls

Land use controls are the most common type of institutional control (IC). ICs are administrative or legal controls that help reduce the likelihood for human exposure to contamination. ICs can also help protect the integrity of the remedy. Examples of ICs are:

• Zoning ordinances.
• Environmental covenants.
• Deed notices.
• Well-drilling restrictions.
• Building permits.
• Informational advisories.

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Five-Year Reviews

EPA or the lead agency conducts five-year reviews following the start of a Superfund cleanup when contamination is left on the site. These reviews are repeated every five years. We use these reviews to determine:

• How the remedy is working.
• If the remedy remains protective of human health and the environment.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in cooperation with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), is conducting the second five-year review for Operable Unit 2 (OU2) of the Lincoln Park Superfund Site. The purpose of a five-year review is to evaluate the implementation and performance of a remedy to determine if it is or will be protective of human health and the environment. The five-year review will focus on the residential soils portion of OU2 and is scheduled to be completed by September 27, 2012.

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Site Documents

You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view some of the files on this page. See EPA's PDF page to learn more.

Site boundary map, April 12, 2012 (PDF 1 pg, 1.9MB)

Annual Update to the Five-Year Review, January 2009 (PDF, 6 pp, 51K)

OU2 First Five-Year Review Report, September 2007 (PDF, 48 pp, 1.6MB)

Residential Soils Sampling Project, Fall 2005 (PDF, 16 pp, 113K)
– Appendix A: Site Sketch Maps (PDF, 22 pp, 2MB)
– Appendix B: Sample Custody Sheets (PDF, 16 pp, 832K)
– Appendix C: Off-Site Lab Analytical Results (PDF, 13 pp, 761K)
– Appendix D: Sample Summary Results (PDF, 3 pp, 13K)

More Cotter-EPA Correspondence

OU2 Record of Decision, January 3, 2002 (PDF, 87 pp, 1MB)

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Contacts

View Documents at:

The Royal Gorge Regional Museum and History Center
612 Royal Gorge Boulevard
P.O. Box 1460
Cañon City, CO 81215
719-269-9036

Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
HMWMD Records Center
4300 Cherry Creek Drive South
Denver, Colorado 80246-1530
303-692-3331
888-569-1831 (toll free)
303-759-5355 FAX
M–F, 8 a.m.–Noon and 1:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m.
Appointment is recommended

EPA Superfund Records Center
1595 Wynkoop Street
Denver, CO 80202-1129
303-312-6473
800-227-8917 ext. 312-6473 (toll free Region 8 only)
M-F, 8 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
Appointment is recommended

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Photo/Video Gallery

 

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Links

Lincoln Park site at the CDPHE Hazardous Materials and Waste Management Division

Colorado Citizens Against Toxic Waste, Inc. (C.C.A.T.)

Fremont County Independent Outreach Committee - FCIOC

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