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The location was ideal, not only because of the proximity to the airport, but because of the geographic features of the site, it was less likely to be attacked. Its latest plan calls for waiting 20 years in hopes that better, less expensive technology emerges or the unexploded shells degrade to a safe level. Most of the land areas now belong to the U.S. In 2004, 5000 acres along the perimeter of the site were deleted from the National Priorities List of Superfund sites to establish the National Wildlife Refuge. Shell Oil Co. leased the property and manufactured agricultural pesticides in the South Plants complex from 1952 through 1982. The organic content of the solution was high but is largely unknown. Some were among the most dangerously polluted sites in the nation but held swaths of hard-to-find habitat. Roughly 10 miles (16 kilometers) from downtown Denver, the arsenal was once an environmental nightmare where chemical weapons and commercial pesticides were made. The Off-Post Record of Decision was finalized in December 1995 and its requirements consist of actions for off-site groundwater and soil. 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Rocky Mountain Arsenal, Commerce City, Adams County, CO, Rocky Mountain Arsenal Archive: A collection of primary, historical documents, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rocky_Mountain_Arsenal&oldid=1139926896, North boundary groundwater treatment system (197982) $4.3 million,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. Weapons manufactured at RMA included both conventional and chemical munitions, including white phosphorus (M34 grenade), napalm, mustard gas, lewisite, and chlorine gas. 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. For more information please visit 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. Subsequently, through the 1970s until 1985, RMA was used as a demilitarization site to destroy munitions and chemically related items. The Colorado departments Hazardous Materials and Waste Management Division filed the lawsuit Monday in U.S. District Court in Denver to force the Army to comply with standards set by the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA). The contamination of the underlying alluvial aquifer occurred due to the discharge of waste into unlined basins. Fish and Wildlife Service to establish a field office at the RMA to help manage the abundant wildlife. In 1942, the US Army acquired 19,915 acres (80.59km2) of land on which to manufacture weapons in support of World War II military activities at a cost of $62,415,000. For testing purposes, the well was injected with approximately 568,000 gallons of city water prior to injecting any waste. From 1964 -- 1966, waste was removed from an isolated section of Basin F and was combined with waste from a pre-treatment plant, located near Basin F, and then pumped into the well. From Arsenal of Democracy to urban wildlife refuge, the RMA has been critical to achieving U.S. defense, space exploration, environmental remediation and conservation goals. Fish and Wildlife Service is responsible for managing the Arsenals wildlife and habitat. State and federal officials say its safe, but skeptical activists filed a lawsuit saying the federal government didnt test the refuge carefully enough. 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. Restrictions on well water use, residential development, consumption of fish and game from the arsenal, and agricultural use of the arsenal will exist in perpetuity until further scientific research is completed at the site. In September 2010, the cleanup was considered complete, and the remaining portions of land were transferred to the U.S. The animals were transferred from the National Bison Range in Montana. Other demographics of the mother were gathered as well. State health officials are asking the federal courts to intervene to stop the contamination on the north and northwest boundaries of the trenches. 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. Share Them by March 3. The refuge was created on the buffer zone surrounding the production area. Further, in 1961, the Army constructed a 12,000-foot deep injection well for the disposal of wastes. In addition to the containment structures, the agreed-upon remedy directs that the entire area is subject to restrictions on land use in perpetuity, including residential development, agricultural use, any potable use of the groundwater, and any consumption of fish or game from the Arsenal. Roughly 10 miles (16 kilometers) from downtown Denver, the arsenal was once an environmental nightmare where chemical weapons and commercial pesticides were made. Soldiers test-fired millions of artillery rounds at the proving ground, some made of depleted uranium. The well remained unused for nearly 20 years. Today, the Refuge encompasses more than 15,000 acres of restored shortgrass prairie and provides habitat to more 300 species of wildlife, including American bison, bald eagles, mule and white-tailed deer, burrowing owls and black-footed ferrets. The shock shuffled furniture around in homes, and left electrical wall outlets hanging by their wires at Irondale. In the early 1960s, the U.S. Army began to lease out its facilities to private companies to manufacture pesticides. (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. Following the war and through the early 1980s, the facilities continued to be used by the Army. One of the major lessees, Shell Oil Company, along with Julius Hyman and Company and Colorado Fuel and Iron, had manufacturing and processing capabilities on RMA between 1952 and 1982. [citation needed] Parts of a C-shaped buffer zone around the perimeter are open to visitors asHanford Reach National Monument. A 14-year, $2-billion remediation effort begun in 1996 will turn most of the arsenal into a national wildlife refuge. Official websites use .gov The U.S. Army and Shell conducted the $2.1 billion environmental cleanup of the site in collaboration with the Environmental Protection Agency, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and Tri-County Health Department. The contaminated soils cleanup phase of the process was completed in 2010. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment established monitoring systems throughout various locations of the RMA. [6][7] He began working at the newspaper in 1998, after writing for newspapers in Mesa, Ariz., and Twin Falls, Idaho, and The Associated Press in Salt Lake City. Most badgers at Rocky Mountain Arsenal appear to be unaffected by dieldrin, one of the main chemical contaminants remaining in the soil at the military base. A more recent article in 2004 by Pimentel,[19] estimated the cost of removal pesticides from the groundwater and soil at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal by approximately $2 billion. The Rocky Mountain Arsenal was a United States chemical weapons manufacturing center located in the Denver Metropolitan Area in Commerce City, Colorado. In the early 1980s the site was selected as a Superfund site and the cleanup process began. Fish and Wildlife Service, bringing the total to 15,000 acres (61km2). However, the Army estimates that the waste was a more dilute version of the Basin F liquid which is now being incinerated. Denver's independent source of Today, only the foundation of a watch post from Rose Hill is visible, and then only when pointed. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Many mammals and birds were found dead and may have suffered lower reproduction rates or birth defects.[11]. In 1986, it was discovered that the absence of human activity had made the area an involuntary park when a winter communal roost of bald eagles, then an endangered species, was discovered on site. The U.S. Army permanently manages. More than 600 chemicals have been used or manufactured at the arsenal, including: Diisopropyl methylphosphonate (DIMP), a chemical unique to the Army's manufacture of nerve gas. As cleanup actions were successfully completed, the U.S. Army transferred land to the U.S. These potential confounders are not clearly addressed in this report and may complicate the analysis as well as raise concern for disparities in exposure risk that is dependent upon demographic factors. The Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge has been transformed from a 17,000+ acre facility used for weapons and chemical manufacturing into a beautiful nature sanctuary. Some waste disposal pits presented short-term hazards sufficient to preclude their excavation. In the mid-1980s, wildlife, including endangered species, moved into the space and the land became a protected park. All manufacturing activities ended in 1982. Although the U.S. Army and Shell used accepted disposal practices of the time, decades of chemical and agricultural production led to contamination of some of the soil, structures and groundwater. Groundwater is also pumped and treated at the site. All waste that was left in place is now interred beneath large-area engineered covers that prevent any intrusion into the waste that remains below. 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. From 1950 to 1952, the Army constructed the North Plants complex to manufacture the nerve agents VX and GB, (also called sarin). 1943RMA employees work around the clock to manufacture mustard gas, Lewisite, chlorine gas and incendiary weapons. Take the Rocky Mountain Arsenal Self-Guided Wildlife Drive This was the highlight of the park for us. Also, they noted that if all groundwater were to be cleared for human consumption, the cost would be $500 million annually. [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. All surface work related to the environmental cleanup ended in 2010, one year ahead of schedule and within budget. During November 1967, the Denver region was shaken by five moderate earthquakes. An official website of the United States government, Archives: Project Descriptions / Fact Sheets, Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil. A $7 billion cleanup concentrated on 2 square miles (5 square kilometers) where workers assembled plutonium triggers for nuclear warheads, and that area is fenced and closed to the public. The Energy Department told the state it has no current plans to change the classification. Rocky Mountain Arsenal, which was once a U.S. Army chemical weapons manufacturing facility, became a wildlife refuge in 1992. Rocky Mountain Greenway Trail Open: Year-round to hiking, bicycles, and Class 1 e-Bikes Length: 4.8 miles This regional trail corridor will link Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge with Two Ponds and Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuges, along with many other protected open space and park lands throughout the Denver metro-area. independent local journalism in Denver. Many slight shocks occurred near the well during this period. One of the lessees, Julius Hyman and Company, manufactures agricultural chemicals at the site. EPA and the State concurred with the approach. Rocky Mountain Arsenal on FishExplorer has 222 historic conditions reports, 90 historic water temperature updates, 120 historic status updates, 138 historic water level updates, available to subscribers. Included in the RMANWR Act, areas within RMA that were still contaminated were still owned by the U.S. Army, however, the vast majority of the land that was deemed clean would be managed by the Federal Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). Secure .gov websites use HTTPS Following a final land transfer, the Refuge expands to 15,000 acres and becomes one of the largest urban national wildlife refuges in the United States. 24,590 were here. It remained controversial among residents until it was closed in 1992. This led the State of Colorado to take legal action over who has legal authority over RMA remediation efforts, payment of natural resource damages (NRDs), and reimbursement of costs expended for cleanup activities (response costs). 1947The U.S. Army places the RMA on standby status and leases some facilities to private industry. Vote in our annual food bracket challenge. Houses creaked and objects rattled during this magnitude 2.1 earthquake. An official website of the United States government. Residential and commercial property is located to the north, south and west. Conditions reports for this lake are available when logged in. The Rocky Mountain Arsenal, located ten minutes outside of downtown Denver, Colorado, offers one of the most unique urban wildlife refuges in the country. Rocky Mountain Arsenal, among other post-military sites, was a top priority, establishing RMA as a superfund site. In September 2017, the state of Colorado filed a lawsuit to sue the United States government for the right to control the contaminated areas of the RMA. As provided by CERCLA, a Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS) was conducted to determine the extent of contamination. The site was placed on the National Priorities List (NPL), a list of the most contaminated areas in the United States. (5 of 9), Mayor Pro Tem Ren Bullock, who also sits on the Board of Directors for the Friends of the Front Range Wildlife Refuges, stated "As a decades-long participant in transitioning this site from munitions manufacturing to wildlife sanctuary, I can honestly say the Refuge is an shining example of promises made, promises kept and should serve as the gold standard for how to make former Superfund sites benefit the communities in which they are located." Both the landfills and the covers are built to prevent intrusion by humans or animals, and also to prevent further contamination to the groundwater. The Arsenal also played a role in Americas space exploration by manufacturing the rocket fuel used to power the Apollo 11 flights. Colorado health officials contendthat Shells trenches and slurry walls have not prevented pesticides and other dangerous chemicals from leaching into the groundwater. The Surveillance for Birth Defects utilized passive observational data from an existing birth defects registry March 1989 March 2009. 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. [3] One of the goals of the MMP was to enhance community assurance that the clean-up was effective, and it included air quality monitoring, cancer surveillance, and birth defects surveillance. Coinciding with these activities, from 1946 to 1982, the Army leased RMA facilities to private industries for the production of pesticides. Congruent with the outline of the June 1996 USFWS Comprehensive Management Plan, RMA will be available for public use through both community outreach and educational programs (as provided by the Visitor Access Plan and the USFWS). 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. Rocket fuel was blended on-site for the Titan and Delta missile operations. Additionally, some of this land was used for a prisoner of war camp (for Germancombatants) and later transferred to the city of Denver as Stapleton Airport expanded. Not for the "stupid price" of $150 an acre foot. 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. 1950North Korea invades South Korea, and the U.S. Army reactivates the RMA to produce chemical weapons and incendiary munitions for the Korean War and Vietnam Conflict. This soil is contained in hazardous waste landfills. Bringing the total to 15,000 acres ( 61km2 ) lawsuit saying the federal courts intervene... 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