Madison, the Fish and Wildlife Service historian, said the refuges are salvaging something valuable from ecological devastation. Mitchell first started writing the Cold Case blog in Fall 2007, in part because Colorado has more than 1,400 unsolved homicides. Rocky Mountain Arsenal. Feds sue water company for rupture damaging Rocky Mountain National Park -- again, Family gets unexpected bill after Kaiser Permanente Colorado software error that resulted in refunds to thousands, Skygazers will have a great view Wednesday of two planets that look like they are almost touching. Fish and Wildlife Service andShell Oil Company. Please direct your comments and questions to: Rocky Mountain Arsenal, 7270 Kingston Parkway, Building 129, Commerce City, CO 80222 or by email to: Patty.l.lee6.civ@army.mil Annual Monitoring Reports In cooperation with federal, state and local regulatory agencies, the U.S. Army maintains and monitors the remedy to ensure its ongoing protectiveness. 4300 Cherry Creek Drive South Denver, CO 80246, Colorado Health Information Data Set (CoHID), Office of Public Health Practice, Planning, and Local Partnerships (OPHP), Air Quality - Monitoring, Modeling and Data. Extremely loud, explosivelike earth noises were heard. Critics sayRocky Mountain Arsenalin Colorado illustrates the shortcomings of a cleanup designed to be good enough for a refuge but not for human habitation. The U.S. Army selected 17,000 acres of farm land just 10 miles northeast of Denver in Commerce City, Colorado, as the site of the new Arsenal. Subsequently, through the 1970s until 1985, RMA was used as a demilitarization site to destroy munitions and chemically related items. Since there is no further use for the building, the Army will remove it as part of a larger effort to reduce the Armys footprint at RMA. Due to the early completion of this program, the Army realized a savings of 300,000 dollars. In 1942, during World War II, the U.S. Army bought 17,000 acres of farmland outside of Denver to develop chemical weapons to be used as a war deterrent. Theyre not going to want to be in a place with chemical pollution or radiation problems., Email: newsroom@coloradosun.com This program was designed to address potential Arsenal-related health concerns of those living in communities surrounding the Rocky Mountain Arsenal, including the southernmost portion of Brighton, Commerce City, Green Valley Ranch, Henderson and Montbello. The Off-Post Record of Decision was finalized in December 1995 and its requirements consist of actions for off-site groundwater and soil. Many homeowners reported wall, ceiling, floor, patio, sidewalk, and foundation cracks. Between 1946 and 1987, the Army also leased portions of the arsenal to Shell Oil Company to manufacture pesticides. Critics say Rocky Mountain Arsenal in Colorado illustrates the shortcomings of a cleanup designed to be good enough for a refuge but not for human habitation. During the cleanup of the RMA, concern for air pollution from the hazardous materials was raised. The magnitude 5.3 tremor caused the most serious damage at Northglenn, where concrete pillar supports to a church roof were weakened, and 20 windows were broken. Following the war and through the early 1980s, the facilities continued to be used by the Army. Photos source: US Fish and Wildlife Service The U.S government acquired the Arsenal land in 1942 to manufacture chemical warfare agents, including mustard gas and incendiary munitions, for use in World War II. The final step was adding Bentonite, a heavy clay mud that later solidified, to close the rest of the hole up to the ground surface. Mallard carcasses found to have higher levels of Dieldrin. Its location was selected because it is far from the coast and it has sufficient labor force. Take the Rocky Mountain Arsenal Self-Guided Wildlife Drive This was the highlight of the park for us. From 1943 to 1956, the US Army and Shell discharged wastes into the unlined basins resulting in the contamination of the South Platte River outside the Arsenal. In 1996, after a lengthy process in which site investigations were conducted and completed, an approach to remedy the chemical contamination at the Arsenal was set forth by the US Army. [8] It was drilled to a depth of 12,045 feet (3671 m). Is there a risk of cancer related to Rocky Flats contamination? The 17,000-acre site is 10 miles northeast of Denver. After the attack on Pearl Harbor and the United States entered World War II, the U.S. Army began looking for land to create a chemical manufacturing center. 2011In cooperation with federal, state and local regulatory agencies, the U.S. Army permanently maintains 1,000 acres at the site containing the landfills, waste consolidation areas and groundwater treatment facilities. Vote in our annual food bracket challenge. In addition, contamination affects public health and nature (honeybee poisonings, pesticide resistance in pests, destruction of natural predators, wild birds, microbes) negatively. The cleanup was completed in 2010 and five large parcels of land have been deleted from the NPL, creating opportunities for reuse development and expansion of the Refuge. 24,590 were here. 2004After the EPA certifies that cleanup actions are complete, the U.S. Department of Defense transfers 5,000 acres of RMA land to the U.S. Department of the Interior to officially establish the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge. On May 21, 2011, the official visitor center for the refuge was opened with an exhibit about the site's history, ranging from the homesteading era to its current status. The government converted them into refuges under U.S. Contaminated areas of soil remain in the Rocky Mountain Arsenal, but are contained in basins and containment structures.[11]. The U.S. Congress responded to the movement in 1980 with the creation of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), most commonly referred to as a Superfund. The timeline below highlights important milestones from each decade. The military, the U.S. Department of Energy and private companies have spent more than $57 billion to clean up the six heavily polluted sites, according to figures gathered by The Associated Press from military and civil agencies. North of the former Stapleton Airport and west of Denver International Airport, Adams County. Several were felt, but none caused damage until the window breaker that surprised Dupont and Irondale on the night of December 4. SITE HISTORY - Rocky Mountain Arsenal was listed on the NPL in 1987. Manufacturing and waste disposal practices used during these years resulted in extensive soil, surface water, sediment, groundwater and structures contamination, damage to trees and vegetation, and death to wildlife. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Houses creaked and objects rattled during this magnitude 2.1 earthquake. Some waste disposal pits presented short-term hazards sufficient to preclude their excavation. Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge has catch-and-release fishing from the first Saturday in April through November 30 daily from sunrise to sunset. Please click here to see any active alerts. They awakened many residents, but were not widely felt. [12] Though the cleanup of the site was considered complete in 2010, soil and groundwater monitoring practices occur every five years to ensure the effects of the clean-up remain. 1941Japan attacks Pearl Harbor, and the United States enters World War II. In 1984, the Army began a systematic investigation of site contamination in accordance with the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA), commonly referred to as Superfund. After the war, it became a bustling center of industrial. Coinciding with these activities, from 1946 to 1982, the Army leased RMA facilities to private industries for the production of pesticides. Colorado health officials contendthat Shells trenches and slurry walls have not prevented pesticides and other dangerous chemicals from leaching into the groundwater. Only one, on July 15, caused minor damage at Commerce City. [11], The NRDA found several injuries to wildlife. Waste further down than 10 is left in place in the former areas where the basins, chemical sewers, manufacturing plants, disposal trenches once were. RMA is also one of the few sites that had a stockpile of Sarin gas (aka nerve agent GB), an organophosphorus compound. The Rocky Mountain Arsenal, a manufacturing center of United States chemical weapons, is located in Commerce City, Colorado. So theres a huge downside to converting it into a wildlife refuge, because it allows residual contamination to remain in place, said Jeff Edson, a former Colorado state health official who worked on the cleanup. Despite yesterday's earthquake that hit the Trinidad region, "Colorado is considered a region of minor earthquake activity," according to the U.S. Geological Survey. August 24, 2011 1969Powered by rocket fuel propellant manufactured at the RMA, Apollo 11 lands on the moon. Many of the surrounding neighborhoods have been provided with potable tap water from other areas of Adams county because of the potential effects of contaminated groundwater from wells. The manufacturing of these weapons continued until 1969. Further testing revealed that the containment issue is an ongoing problem, the lawsuit says. A lot of the environmental stories are kind of doomy and gloomy, and these are successful ones, something positive, he said. By year end, the United States has out-produced the Axis Powers by 150 percent. Now a majority are voluntarily adopting them. There are many studies that try to estimate the total costs due to contamination of pesticides in U.S. as well as in other countries; however, indirect costs are difficult to estimate, but likely several times than total direct environmental and social costs. The Army replied by indicating federal authorities should regulate the arsenal superfund site through the CERCLA, and not state environmental authorities. A local shock awakened a few persons in Commerce City November 25. Many mammals and birds were found dead and may have suffered lower reproduction rates or birth defects.[11]. The Colorado Sun is a journalist-owned, award-winning news outlet based in Denver that strives to cover all of Colorado so that our state our community can better understand itself. An official website of the United States government. 1962Treated liquid waste is injected into a deep well located more than 12,000 feet below the ground surface. Theoretically, if the Earth still exists in the year 3000, theyll still be monitoring groundwater at the arsenal, he said. Telling stories that matter in a dynamic, evolving state. They would be worse if they were surrounded by a fence and left off-limits for decades and decades, said David Havlick, a professor at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs who studies military-to-wildlife conversions. Archives: Project Descriptions / Fact Sheets, Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil. As cleanup actions were successfully completed, the U.S. Army transferred land to the U.S. (3 of 9), REDEVELOPMENT - Commerce City, CO a northern suburb of Denver,and a sports enterprise business have invested more than $120 million in the property, which yields 1.7 million visitors annually. The Rocky Mountain Arsenal was placed on the National Priorities List of Superfund sites in July 1987. Both those cases are pending in federal court. Birth defects included in the analysis were: "total congenital anomalies, major congenital anomalies, heart defects, muscle and skeletal defects, and kidney and bladder defects," and these categories were inconsistent in reporting accuracy. selected for the Rocky Mountain Arsenal includes the removal of contaminated soil down to 10 over much of the contaminated area, and that contaminated overburden is contained in two hazardous waste landfills that remain on the site. The Army was dumping dangerous chemicals into a deep injection well out at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal. Here's the history of the Arsenal quakes from the USGS site: It was 32 minutes after 4 a.m. on April 24 when the first shock of the Denver series was recorded at the Cecil H. Green Geophysical Observatory at Bergen Park, Colorado. Organochlorine pesticides, heavy metals, agent degradation products and manufacturing by-products, and chlorinated and aromatic solvents are getting into groundwater in unsafe levels, it says. "Without the support of multiple federal agencies including the EPA Commerce City would have not been able to leverage a remediated property into a true community asset." From 1962 -- 1963, the fluids were pumped from Basin F into the well. This is unprecedented: Avian flu has killed 12,000 birds in Colorado, Smart sensors on I-25 promise really significant traffic improvements, pilot study shows, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge, Denver just got a direct flight to this Caribbean island known for music history and vegetarian cooking, Denver gang member gave 14-year-old permission to open fire on woman with AR-15 after fender-bender, DA alleges, Multiple Colorado schools temporarily placed under secure status due to threats, Denver East High student dies more than two weeks after being shot outside school, Letters: Proposed age limit for gun ownership in Colorado doesn't make sense. Safety concerns for neighboring residents, Economic impact of contamination and clean up, Last edited on 17 February 2023, at 15:23, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge, "The Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge: On a Rocky Road to Creating a Community Asset", "Remediation Management of Complex Sites, Case Study 6.4 Rocky Mountain Arsenal, Colorado", "A Brief History of Rocky Mountain Arsenal", "Remediation of Groundwater Contamination at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal: Numerical and Geostatistical Analysis", "Colorado Sues Government Over Rocky Mountain Arsenal Site", "Rocky Mountain Arsenal Oversight Program FAQs", Rocky Mountain Arsenal, Commerce City, Adams County, CO, Rocky Mountain Arsenal Archive: A collection of primary, historical documents, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rocky_Mountain_Arsenal&oldid=1139926896, North boundary groundwater treatment system (197982) $4.3 million, Irondale groundwater treatment system by Shell (1981) $1.1 million, Basin F liquid evaporation and contaminated sewer removal (1982) $1.5 million, Northwest boundary groundwater treatment system (1984) $5.5 million, Removal of 76,000 drums of waste salts (1986) $10.5 million, Treatment in the public water supply and The Klein Water Treatment Facility supplies safe drinking water to 30,000 south Adams County residents (1989) $23.1 million, Removal and containment of 10.5M gallons of Basin F liquids and 564,000 cubic yards of sludges (1989) $42 million, Improvements and modifications to North boundary system (19901) $2.75 million, Basin F groundwater intercept system (1990) $0.7 million, Basin A neck groundwater treatment system (1990) $3.1 million, Northwest Boundary System Improvement (1991) $1.4 million, Rail classification yard and motor pool ground water (1991) $3.0 million, South tank farm plume (1991) $0.5 million, Reapplication of windblown dust control (1991) $0.25 million, Groundwater treatment system to the north (19923) $8.7 million, Building 1727 sump cleanup (1993) $0.18 million, This page was last edited on 17 February 2023, at 15:23. The Rocky Mountain Arsenal manufactured chemical weapons including mustard gas, napalm, white phosphorus, lewisite, chlorine gas, and sarin. After the war, it became a bustling center of industrial activity -- a top-secret center that created a lot of dangerous waste. 1943From 1943 to 1946, the Rose Hill Prisoners of War Camp houses captured German soldiers at the RMA. They have been left in place to excavate, so they have been left in place. In an effort to foster economic growth in the area and maintain the facilities for national security, private companies were encouraged to lease facilities beginning in the mid-1940s. [18] While it is difficult to capture the societal cost to clean up the site, the list of actions dealing with groundwater contamination listed by Mears and Heise include: Direct economic totals add up to approximately $111 million and this estimation does not include operation and maintenance costs. Feds light fires at Rocky Mountain Arsenal to restore prairie for multiplying bison and the visitors who flock there Prescribed fire is meant to invigorate about 875 acres of short-grass . Office of Public Health Practice, Planning, and Local Partnerships, Chemicals from firefighting foam & other sources, Colorado Legacy Land/Lincoln Park Superfund site, Test & Fix Water for Kids at Family Child Care Homes, Toxicology and environmental epidemiology, Engage with the Water Quality Control Division, Hazardous Materials and Waste Management Division, Bonanza Mining District Restoration Project, Colorado Smelter Community Advisory Group, Colorado Smelter Pamphlets, Charts, Forms and Reports. The injected fluids had very little potential for reaching the surface or useable groundwater supply since the injection point had 11,900 feet of rock above it and was sealed at the opening. Contaminated ground water was first discovered to have migrated off of the Arsenal in the mid-1950s when crop damage and affected livestock was noted on farms north of the Arsenal. State officials say they want long-term and legally binding assurances. Researchers have not examined the health risks to wildlife at the cleaned-up refuges as extensively as the potential danger to humans, but few problems have been reported. A civic center, high school, soccer complexand public open space are also located here. Cancer incidence in the communities near the arsenal was also monitored and found to be varied across location, gender, race and time, and have been determined to not be related to past Arsenal exposure or cleanup activities. Photo source: Dave Showalter Since its establishment in 1942, the Rocky Mountain Arsenal (RMA) has played a unique role in the service of our nation. Farmers in the vicinity complained about the damage to crops due to the water pumped from the shallow alluvial aquifer. Further, there have been damages to the rural areas due to contamination resulting in livestock losses, and crop losses. (4 of 9), CREATION OF WILDLIFE REFUGE In the 1980s a roost of bald eagles, which were then on the Endangered Species List, was discovered. Photo source:CBS Denver It stipulates that the majority of the site will become a National Wildlife Refuge under the jurisdiction of the Fish and Wildlife Service when the environmental restoration is completed. Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge, a former nuclear weapons plant northwest of Denver, opened to hikers and cyclists last September, but some activists question whether its safe. As cleanup progressed, the Army transferredmost of the land to the U.S. How? [6][7] The Colorado School of Mines rated this shock magnitude 5.0. biological agent at Rocky Mountain Arsenal was begun in August 1971 and was completed in mid-February 1973. In its own account of the cleanup at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal, the Army web site offers this explanation: The Rocky Mountain Arsenal deep injection well was constructed in 1961, and was drilled to a depth of 12,045 feet. The U.S. Rocky Mountain Arsenal, among other post-military sites, was a top priority, establishing RMA as a superfund site. In 1982, all production at the site stopped, and the Arsenals mission changed to environmental cleanup and restoration. The new venue hosts the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer. The end result was approximately 165 million gallons of Basin F liquid waste being injected into the well during the period from 1962 through 1966. Another strong shock rumbled through the Denver area on November 14, 1966, causing some damage at Commerce City and Eastlake. Depleted uranium fragments are scattered on the firing range among 1.5 million rounds of unexploded shells, which makes cleanup dangerous and expensive. Fish and Wildlife Service enter into a unique public-private teaming arrangement called the Remediation Venture Office (RVO) to facilitate the safe, timely and cost-effective cleanup and transition of the site. Treatment plants remove contaminants from groundwater to keep them out of domestic wells. From 1950 to 1952, the Army constructed the North Plants complex to manufacture the nerve agents VX and GB, (also called sarin). To read the report, click here. A. Dietrich f. h,_ During the 1968 pumping tests at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal disposal well, the U.S. Geological Survey was responsible for moni wring earthquakes occurring in the area of the arsenal ami making chemical analysis of the fluids removed. The Rocky Mountain Arsenal manufactured chemical weapons including mustard gas, napalm, white phosphorus, lewisite, chlorine gas, and sarin. (7 of 9), BENEFIT - Cleanup of the Rocky Mountain Arsenal has bolstered the economy of the greater Denver metro area and provides its neighbors with jobs, recreation, and a peaceful escape to nature. Another group asked the courts to release documents from a 27-year-old criminal investigation into the weapons plant, hoping they will show whether the government tracked down and cleaned up all the contamination. In 1992, Congress Passed the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge Act (RMANWR Act). Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge (credit: CBS) Nick Kaczor and his team were also out -- trying to find the black footed ferrets. Baseline rates of congenital anomalies in the study area compared to Colorado as a whole did not show significant differences between populations. Rocky Mountain Arsenal continues to leak, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Get to know all 17 Denver mayor candidates , Rocky Mountain Arsenal continues to leak contaminants into groundwater, Colorado health department lawsuit says, Feds sue water company for rupture damaging Rocky Mountain National Park again. EPA and the State concurred with the approach. Rocket fuel was blended on-site for the Titan and Delta missile operations. Today, the Rocky Mountain Arsenal, once some of the most contaminated land in the country, is a cleaned-up nature center. Damage on a lesser scale occurred throughout the area. 1943RMA employees work around the clock to manufacture mustard gas, Lewisite, chlorine gas and incendiary weapons. 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