EPA comments on Clean Air Act Draft Construction Permit for Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mine in Colorado
Summary
On December 9, 2022, the EPA commented on the Draft Construction Permit 98TE0545 for the Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mine (CC&V) proposed by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE). This permit action would increase the daily and annual throughput limits for cement and lime at the ROM silo (AIRS point 040) at the CC&V. The EPA's comments focus on the efforts of the CDPHE to use air quality modeling to demonstrate that the proposed project does not cause or contribute to a violation of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards. The EPA's comments express concerns about the following areas: the usage of the ambient air boundary, the particulate matter emission factors used in the model and the data used to establish the background concentrations in the model.
The EPA submitted these comments during the October 28 through December 11, 2022, public comment period for the CC&V draft construction permit. The EPA's comments do not reflect a denial of the CC&V permit and the EPA looks forward to CDPHE's response to these concerns.
EPA Comments on CDPHE Draft Construction Permit for CC&V Gold Mine - 12/9/22 (pdf)
A copy of the application, the CDPHE's analysis, and a draft of Construction Permit 98TE0545 are available on the CDPHE's website at: Administrative Docket: CDPHE Construction Permit for CC&V Gold Mine.