On June 11, 2024, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) held a second meeting on the current phase of cleaning up the Central City-Clear Creek Superfund site. They met at the Clear Creek County Courthouse in Georgetown.

Kyle Sandor of CDPHE is the Project Manager for the current phase, Operable Unit 5 (OU5), and acted as the moderator for the meeting. He gave a status update on OU5 and then opened the meeting for questions from the audience.

The Central City-Clear Creek Superfund site was established in 1983 and consists of the 400 square-mile Clear Creek watershed in Clear Creek and Gilpin counties. Extensive mining activity in the area has resulted in the watershed becoming contaminated with heavy metals, including arsenic and lead.

The OU5 phase was created in 2022 to evaluate potential human exposure to heavy metals from mine waste piles in residential areas.

The agency has been conducting a Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study in the area, starting with field sampling in 2023. An Interim Record of Decision is expected this fall, which will provide the basis for cleaning individual residential properties. A Final Record of Decision is scheduled for early next year when all testing is complete.

Sandor said that letters have been mailed to property owners who have mine waste piles determined to contain heavy metals exceeding safety standards. These letters contain instructions on contacting CDPHE regarding next steps. After testing over 500 locations, 119 letters were sent out, 62 of them to Gilpin County residences.

During the question-and-answer period, there were multiple questions from realtors and developers regarding property valuations in the Superfund site area. Sandor reiterated that cleanup activities for individual properties are voluntary and paid for by the EPA. Previous cleanup results at other Superfund sites have shown that remediated properties retain or regain their value.

Clear Creek County Commissioner George Marlin had concerns about residential properties with mine waste piles versus properties with mining impacts. He was concerned that there were many more properties with mining impacts that would adversely impact their property valuations. Sandor said that the letters were solely concerned with mine waste piles.

Gilpin County Commissioner Sandy Hollingsworth noted that both Superfund meetings this year were in Clear Creek County and asked if CDPHE was going to hold any meetings in Gilpin. Sandor said that they planned a meeting in Gilpin County for sometime in August.

Sandor ended the meeting by saying that remediation projects for individual residential properties will probably get started in the summer of 2025.

The Gilpin County Public Health Department has applied for a $4,000 grant from the EPA for a lead testing machine and expects to have it working sometime this fall. The machine uses a drop of blood that is analyzed for lead concentrations. The free test will allow parents to test their children for lead buildup in the blood. High blood lead levels are associated with nerve disorders and learning problems.

For more information about the Central City-Clear Creek Superfund OU5 project, contact Kyle Sandor (303-692-6394/Kyle.sandor@state.co.us) or Angela Zachman (720-614-4842). Gilpin County Public Health Director Alisa Witt (303-582-5803/awitt@gilpincounty.org) can also answer questions about lead and heavy metal contamination.

An Example CDPHE Letter can be seen below: