Arthur DeVitalis, Peak to Peak. Colorado and its mountain towns’ rich mining history meets the present, as officials prepare to begin investigating waste piles left over from the excavating days. According to Project Manager Kyle Sandore, as part of the investigation Clear Creek Superfund Site, is working to facilitate the cleanup of heavy metals left over from the hard-rock mining days in the area. He says that the 400 square mile area of the investigation contains more than 500 potential piles, in which the EPA also plays a role in identifying and remedying the problem locations. 

“Our goal is to protect public health to exposure from high levels of heavy metals that can be left over from historic mining,” Sandore said. “Recent assessments at the site indicated that some of the mine waste piles may pose an unacceptable risk due to heavy metals. Right now, we are determining the exact number of piles in those locations that may require cleanup during the investigation. 

He’s speaking of lead and arsenic as the primary drivers of the project there, which often naturally occur. Other metals are also associated with historic mining in the area, which naturally occur around gold deposits. After gold mines were abandoned and vacated, snowmelt, runoff and flooding can bring minerals back to the surface, even after hard rock mining hasn’t been active for decades. “Superfund” is the common name for the law called the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980, or CERCLA.

Sandore works with Public Involvement Coordinator and Public Information Officer Jeannine Natterman, who handles outreach and input related to the project as it continues. Sandore said that assessments were initially conducted in 2015 and 2018, while Natterman mentioned that interviews were conducted with community members and local governments in 2021 about their concerns. A big part of the investigation is analyzing how many people are moving to the Superfund Site area, and the proximity of personal property to the piles. 

“It was part of that five-year review process superfund has, and as part of that, it was our own resource of finding out how many people are actually coming to this watershed area,” Natterman said. “The whole workplace has changed, so people can do a lot more remote working. That was the key about [saying], “Well, okay, now we know we have waste piles around in the area, and some of them might already have people already building on them, they have built on them, or they’re planning to build.” We need to look at those waste piles, and make sure that they’re protective, or that they’re not exposing people unnecessarily to heavy metals in them.”

 The Clear Creek Watershed was designated as a Superfund Site in 1983, and cleanup activities since have focused on protecting surface water by cleaning up the mine waste piles. The goal is also to present the mobilization of the heavy metals by rain and snow events. Operations began about four decades ago, and continue to the present day. In terms of the actual townships, the watershed is about 30 miles west of Denver. The 400 square mile radius includes towns like Central City, Black Hawk, Idaho Springs, Empire and Georgetown. The Colorado Gold Rush actually began in the Superfund Site Area, in Idaho Springs in the mid-19th century. 

The investigation will be complete by 2025, but the organizations involved are working to perform early clean-up on waste piles with high toxicity levels and an immediate risk for exposure to them.  It’s worth saying that the CDPHE and EPA’s goal isn’t to eliminate the contamination entirely. The overall aim is to reverse environmental damage, take action to ensure further pollution doesn’t occur and drive the existing levels of toxic materials in waste piles and bodies of water to low-enough levels that won’t affect humans adversely. 

But why is the project personally important to both Natterman and Sandore? 

“I’m a Colorado native, and I completely support and understand the historic nature of our mining country. It’s always been much a part of our mountain identity,” Natterman said. “What we’ve done is gone to the super problem areas, and created water treatment plants so far. We’ll target the most important areas where people are most impacted, and the [highest] chance for people to be exposed to these heavy metals. With work at the state health department, it’s become very keenly important for us to understand what the effects of heavy metals are on children in particular, women of child-bearing years, and the elderly. So that’s really important to me.” 

“One of the things I think that is really important at these mine sites is to be able to help the community that’s directly impacted by this historic mining legacy,” said Sandore. “Our understanding of the impact of heavy metals to human health has really changed in the last 10 years. What we thought was an acceptable level of contamination to be exposed to is no longer the case. Moving forward, we want to make sure the work we do at the site is protective of human health.”  

The next meeting for community outreach and input will be held online via Zoom Wednesday, August 3, from 6 to 7:30 p.m.  Those interested in the public outreach portion of the project can also contact Community Involvement Coordinator Shannon Bauman at 303-692-3421. More information about upcoming meetings, best practices if exposed to heavy metals, and the project’s progress can be found at  cdphe.colorado.gov/central-city-clear-creek.