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National Information |
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Superfund Program
Lincoln Park
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Site Type: Active NPL City: Canon City County: Fremont Street Address: 2 Mi. S. of Canon City Zip Code: 81212 EPA ID#: COD042167858 Site ID#: 0800115 Site Aliases: Uranium Mill Congressional District(s): 05 |
What's New?
- First Five-Year Review Report for Lincoln Park OU2, September 2007
- Superfund annual meeting January 2005
- Connecting Lincoln Park residents to city water if they chose;
- Constructing a ground-water barrier at the Soil Conservation Service dam to minimize migration of contaminated ground water into Lincoln Park;
- Moving contaminated soils into a lined impoundment;
- Flushing and chemically fixing contaminants in the Old Pond area; and
- Constructing a permeable reactive treatment wall to remove uranium and molybdenum from the ground water.
Cotter also voluntarily cleaned up several railroad loading areas around Canon City, where uranium ore and other materials had been spilled. In addition, the company conducted soil, vegetation and sediment sampling and upgraded its ground-water monitoring program.
While waiting for a license amendment that allowed them to begin new milling operations, Cotter upgraded air quality control systems and made other environmental improvements at the mill. The radioactive-materials license amendment that authorized retooling for the mill became effective in February 1997. Mill operation resumed, with modified alkaline-leaching capability, in May 1999.
Cleanup and monitoring under the Remedial Action plan continue with State oversight. In January 2002, EPA issued a Record of Decision (PDF file) requiring No Further Action for surface soils within Lincoln Park. This decision was made because previous surface-soil cleanup activities have eliminated or reduced risks to acceptable levels. The Cotter Corporation would like to expand its operations at the mill to include the procession of uranium-bearing waste as well as direct disposal of hazardous waste into its impoundments. The Colorado Dept. of Health and Environment (CDPHE) is currently reviewing Cotter's license renewal application, which addresses this mission change.
Colorado
Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE)
Site Description
The Lincoln Park site was added to the Superfund National Priorities List in 1984. 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 also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) giving the State the lead role in overseeing the cleanup of the site. Cleanup activities since 1988 have included:
Lincoln Park is a semi-rural community, two miles south of Canon City, about 1.5 miles from the Cotter uranium mill. Many of the residents have gardens and orchards. Some raise livestock. The mill is in the Sand Creek drainage, which flows through Lincoln Park to the Arkansas River.
Before 1980, Cotter disposed of tailings and other wastes from uranium processing into unlined ponds, following the custom of the times. Contaminants leached into ground water, then migrated to Lincoln Park, affecting local wells. Few residents use ground water for domestic purposes. Most are connected to the Canon City water supply. Some individuals in Lincoln Park still use ground water to irrigate lawns and gardens.
Wind deposited contaminants on soils adjacent to the mill. Tailings, the waste from ore processing, were carried in surface water runoff from the mill, contaminating the stream sediments in Lincoln Park's Sand Creek.
The contaminants of concern at the site are molybdenum and uranium. Repeated exposure to molybdenum can cause increased uric acid accompanied by gout-like symptoms. In cud-chewing animals eating feed low in copper, molybdenum poisoning can be severe. 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. Radon gas is one of the decay products.
Site Risk
In 1958, the Cotter Corporation began milling uranium ore outside Canon City, Colorado. Mill operations released radionuclides (radioactive particles) and metals into the environment, causing soil contamination around the mill itself, as well as ground-water 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, ground water, surface water, soil | Molybdenum, uranium | Uranium milling operations |
Cleanup Progress
While waiting for a license amendment that allowed them to begin new milling operations, Cotter upgraded air quality control systems and made other environmental improvements at the mill. The radioactive-materials license amendment that authorized retooling for the mill became effective in February 1997. Mill operation resumed, with modified alkaline-leaching capability, in May 1999.Cleanup and monitoring under the Remedial Action plan continue with State oversight. In January 2002, EPA issued a Record of Decision (PDF file) requiring No Further Action for surface soils within Lincoln Park. This decision was made because previous surface-soil cleanup activities have eliminated or reduced risks to acceptable levels. However, there has been other activity involving the Cotter uranium milling facility since that time.
The Lincoln Park site is divided into two major cleanup areas, called Operable Units. OU1 is the Cotter milling facility itself, located about three miles from downtown Canon City. The Cotter mill wants to receive, reprocess, and/or store 470,000 tons of waste soils from a Superfund site in Maywood, New Jersey, as well as waste from the Li Tungsten Superfund site in New York. The Maywood and Li Tungsten wastes are low-(radio)activity tailings mixed with soil containing thorium and radium at low concentrations. The material is to be shipped to the Cotter facility by rail.
Cotter plans to use the Maywood/Li Tungsten material as a temporary cover and closure cap for their tailings impoundments. Cotter says it needs the income from this enterprise to fund processing ore for zirconium. The Cotter facility has also received 3,120 drums of calcium fluoride that remain unprocessed and stored at the mill.
In response to citizen concerns, the governor of Colorado signed an emergency bill (HB1408), in April 2002, requiring an Environmental Assessment (EA), public meetings and comment periods, and a state health department review before out-of-state radioactive waste can be shipped into Colorado. On July 9, 2002, CDPHE suspended Cotter's license, preventing the mill from accepting any more shipments until violations found during the State's review are corrected. On September 13, 2002, the State allowed the Cotter mill to receive and process some material to demonstrate that it can comply with worker safety regulations. However, it did not lift the suspension of the company's license. Cotter's license for the mill is due for renewal, and the State's re-licensing process is under way.
CDPHE is the lead regulatory agency for the Cotter mill. EPA oversees the disposal of wastes from Superfund sites under its Off-Site Rule (OSR) to ensure that contaminants do not cause a problem at some other location. Under the OSR, EPA determines whether the disposal site is properly regulated by a legal authority.
Community Involvement
Concerned citizens in Fremont County are opposed to Cotter's accepting any hazardous material from remote locations. They argue that the mill's license only permits the processing of uranium ore and not the general storage or direct disposal of toxic waste. Recently, Colorado Citizens Against Toxicwaste (CCAT) has won a Technical Assistance Grant (TAG) from EPA. A TAG provides funds to hire an independent technical advisor to help inform the community. CDPHE and EPA conduct regular public meetings in Canon City, issue newsletters and Fact Sheets, and interview citizens to ensure that the concerns of the community are hard by the regulatory agencies.Site Documents
First Five-Year Review Report for Lincoln Park OU2, September 2007 (PDF, 48 pp, 2.2 MB)Fall 2005: Residential Soils Sampling Project (PDF, 16 pages, 114 kB)
- Appendix A: Site Sketch Maps (PDF, 22 pages, 2.0 MB)
- Appendix B: Sample Custody Sheets (PDF, 833 kB)
- Appendix C: Off Street Lab Analytical Results (PDF, 761 kB)
- Appendix D: Sample Summary Results (PDF, 13 kB)
September 15, 2005: Review of the Ground Water Data for the Cotter Uranium Mill Site (PDF, 3 pages, 21 kB)
March 24, 2004: Cañon City Lead Data Compilation Report
- Text and Tables (600 KB, PDF large file)
- Site Location Map / Aerial Photos (10 MB, PDF VERY LARGE FILE!)
- College of the Canons Removal Maps (4 MB PDF LARGE FILE)
- Soil Sample Locations Map (1 MB, PDF file, large)
- Dust Sample Locations Map / Aerial Photo (4 MB PDF LARGE FILE)
- The Whole Report in One File 20 MB File, PDF VERY LARGE FILE! Do not attempt to download over telephone Internet connection.
EPA rescinds notice of unacceptability for two impoundments at Cotter Mill
More Cotter - EPA Correspondence
Record of Decision Links (all PDF files):
Record of Decision - Text
Related Information
CERCLA Off-Site Rule/Cotter Uranium Mill
Contacts
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EPA Patricia Smith Ted Linnert |
CDPHE Phil Stoffey Marian Galant |
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View Documents at: Canon City Library Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment |
