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National Information |
Site Information |
National Priorities List (NPL) HistoryProposed Date Final Date |
Superfund Program
Lincoln Park
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Site Type: Active NPL Current Colorado Radiation Control License City: Canon City County: Fremont Street Address: 0502 Fremont County Road 68 Zip Code: 81212 EPA ID#: COD042167858 Site ID#: 0800115 Site Aliases: Uranium Mill Congressional District(s): 05 |
What's New?
- Water Use Survey underway
- 5 Year Review update, May 2008
- State ground water standards established for uranium and molybdenum, 30 ug/l and 35 ug/l respectively, effective May 2008
- Old Ponds Area reclamation progressing under State license
- Ground water assessment of the Shadow Hills Golf Course area in progress
- First Five-Year Review Report for Lincoln Park OU2, September 2007
Site History
The site is a uranium ore processing mill on 2600 acres, with a current license to operate issued by the Colorado Radiation Control Program. The facility is not currently processing ore. Releases to the environment were found to affect surface soils and ground water in neighboring Lincoln Park. The Lincoln Park site was added to the Superfund National Priorities List in 1984. The listing includes the Cotter Mill and areas where contaminants have come to be located.
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 (MOU) giving the State the lead role in overseeing the cleanup of the site.
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.
Cotter disposed of tailings and other wastes from uranium processing into unlined ponds before 1980, 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.
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.
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. 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 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 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, ground water, surface water, soil | Molybdenum, uranium, uranium daughter products | Uranium milling operations |
Cleanup Progress
Cleanup takes place under the joint authorities of the Radiation Control license, the Court Ordered settlement of a Natural Resource Damage Suit, and the Superfund National Priority List program. Cleanup plans for both onsite (OU1) and offsite (OU2) areas are documented in the Remedial Action Plan (RAP). The RAP requires Cotter to perform cleanup actions in OU1 and OU2, monitor ground water 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. Remedial action and monitoring under the RAP begin in 1988 and continues today. Cleanup takes place concurrent with ongoing license activities.
Offsite exposures are managed by the following measures:- A Water Use Survey to identify existing users of contaminated ground water (late 1980's);
- Continuing review of new wells of record at the State Engneer's office, reported annually in the Cotter ALARA Report to 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 5 Year Review of the site in 2007 indicated these measures are currently 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 is underway 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 tailing from unlined impoundments was excavated and disposed in the main, line impoundment, 1981 - 83;
- 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, 1996-97 and was found to be ineffective.
- 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, 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 site area, was backfilled in 1978;
- Monitoring of groundwater, surface water, soil, vegetation and air is ongoing and reported annually in the Cotter ALARA report to CDPHE:
- Assessment of groundwater migration under the Shadow Hills Golf Course is
in progress through the State Radiation License.
- The State determined wastes from the Li Tungsten Superfund site in Maywood, NJ 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 produced, is being updated in 2008.
- State groundwater standards were established for uranium and molybdenum at 30 ug/l and 35 ug/l, respectively, effective May 2008.
Cleanup and monitoring under the Remedial Action Plan continue with State oversight. In January 2002, EPA issued a Record of Decision (PDF file) required 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.
Community Involvement
Canon City area residents are actively involved in the remediation of the Cotter Mill/Lincoln Park superfund site. Colorado Citizens Against Toxic Waste (CCAT) represents citizens in Fremont County opposed to Cotter's accepting hazardous material from remote locations. The group argues that the mill's license permits only the processing of uranium ore and not the general storage or direct disposal of toxic waste. In 2005, CCAT was awarded a Technical Assistance Grant (TAG) from EPA. A TAG provides funds to hire an independent technical advisor to help inform the community. The Fremont County Independent Outreach Committee (FCIOC) makes current Cotter Mill updates available and publishes frequent informational columns in the local newspaper, the Canon City Daily Record. A Citizens Advisory Group (CAG) meets monthly in Canon City and provides a forum for citizens to present opinins and for Cotter Mill officials and CDPHE and EPA regulatory officials to present current information. 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.Site Documents
Five-Year Review update May 2008
First Five-Year Review Report for Lincoln Park OU2, September 2007
Fall 2005: Residential Soils Sampling Project
- Appendix A: Site Sketch Maps
- Appendix B: Sample Custody Sheets
- Appendix C: Off Street Lab Analytical Results
- Appendix D: Sample Summary Results
More Cotter - EPA Correspondence
Record of Decision Links (all PDF files):
Record of Decision - Text
Related Information
Colorado
Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE)
Contacts
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EPA Pat Smith John Dalton |
CDPHE Edgar Ethington Jeannine Natterman |
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View Documents at: The Royal Gorge Regional Museum and History Center
Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment |
