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Upper
Arkansas River - Leadville, CO
California
Gulch
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| Background
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The Leadville Mining District (California Gulch) has
hundreds of abandoned mines, many miles of underground tunnels
and shafts, large waste rock and tailings deposits and
numerous processing facilities (some 75 mills and 44
smelters). Waste products including mill tailings, slag,
and dust were frequently placed in piles or tailings ponds;
often in or adjacent to flood plain locations. Over
2,000 waste rock piles cover approximately 627 acres.
Many of these exposed dumps remain as metal sources to the
Arkansas River and other Basin tributaries. In addition, blow outs of mine drainage
tunnels combined with heavy spring runoff have transported an
estimated 115,000 cubic yards of fluvial tailings to the flood
plain of the Arkansas River. These fluvial tails are
being actively eroded by the river and result in ongoing
metals releases.
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Arkansas
River Near Leadville, CO
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The Arkansas River is used for recreation, irrigation of
agricultural and range lands, and municipal drinking
water. Irrigation of rangeland and agricultural land
with high metal content water may contribute to elevated
levels of metals in animals and plants. High metals
concentrations along riverbanks can reduce or eliminate
riverside vegetation, which increases erosion potential. High
metals concentrations in stream water can cause degradation of
fish habitat, recreational areas, and agricultural land.
The Arkansas River seasonally exceeds state aquatic life standards for
several metals including zinc, lead, cadmium, and
copper.
The Department of the Interior
(DOI), State of Colorado
(State), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S.
Department of Justice (DOJ), and two of the primary
potentially responsible parties (PRPs) have signed a
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which sets up a two part
process to restore the Upper Arkansas River Basin. The
first part of the process is to determine natural resource
injury based on data and information currently
available. Upon Completion of injury determination,
restoration alternatives will be developed. The second
part of the process will set up a facilitated negotiation
intended to resolve the PRPs potential liability.
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Public
Documents
Draft Restoration Monitoring and Outreach Plan for the Upper Arkansas River Watershed
Final Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment for the
Upper Arkansas River Watershed
Executive Summmary
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6 and 7
References
Appendix A
Appendix B
Appendix C
Tiger and Dinero Tunnels Restoration
Memorandum
of Understanding (MOU)
(pdf,
252 kb)
Scope of Work (SOW)
(pdf,
24 kb)
Public Participation Plan
(pdf, 150 kb)
Site Characterization Report (SCR)
Executive Summary/Table
of Contents (pdf,
4.90 Mb)
Chapter 1 -
Introduction (pdf,
5.7 Mb)
Chapter 2 - Nature and
Extent of Contamination (11-mile Reach) (pdf,
24.9 Mb)
Chapter 3 - Description
of Potential Resource Injuries and Related Pathways (pdf,
1.4 Mb)
Chapter 4 - Target
Restoration Areas (pdf,
32.0 kb)
Chapter 5 -
Recommendations for Early Actions (pdf,
13.3 kb)
Chapter 6 - Upper
Arkansas River Basin Downstream of the 11-mile Reach (pdf,
5.56 Mb)
Chapter 7 -
Smelter-Emissions Airshed (pdf,
10.5 Mb)
Chapter 8 - References
and Literature Cited (pdf,
52.2 kb)
Appendix List /
Appendix A - Bibliography (pdf,
302 kb)
Appendix B -
Hydrographs (pdf,
1.74 Mb)
Appendix C - Chemical
Data, Biological Data, and Station Lists of Sampling
Locations (pdf,
281 kb)
Appendix D -
Descriptions of Mine-Waste Deposits from Chapter 2 (pdf,
94.7 kb)
Appendix E - Water
Quality Data (pdf,
218 kb)
Appendix F -
Mass-Balance Calculations (pdf,
166 kb)
Appendix G - Baseline
Considerations (pdf,
155 kb)
Appendix H - Upper
Arkansas River Mine-Waste Deposit Ranking (pdf,
74 kb)
Appendix I - Surface
Water Figures (pdf,
498 kb)
Appendix J -
Terrestrial White Paper (pdf,
241 kb)
Restoration Alternatives Report (RAR)
Full Restoration Alternatives Report with Appendices (pdf, 8.6 Mb)
RAR Section 1 - Introduction (pdf, 3.2 Mb)
RAR Section 2 - Summary of Relevant Findings (pdf, 1.9 Mb)
RAR Section 3 - Restoration Needs (pdf, 3.0 Mb)
RAR Section 4 - Indentification and Screening of Restoration Approaches (pdf, 1.9 Mb)
RAR Section 5 - Development of Restoration Alternatives (pdf, 1.9 Mb)
RAR Section 6 - Evaluation of Alternatives (pdf, 3.8 Mb)
RAR Section 7 - Comparative Analysis, through Appendix A (pdf, 3.6 Mb)
Preliminary Estimate of Damages
Chapter 1
(pdf 1.5 Mb)
Chapter 2
(pdf 3.14 Mb)
Chapter 3
(pdf 3.2 Mb)
Appendix
(pdf 264 KB)
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Links to more information
USGS -
Mass Loading of Selected Major
and Trace Elements in Lake Fort Creek near Leadville Colorado
U.S.
EPA -
http://www.epa.gov/region8/superfund/sites/co/calgulch.html
http://cfpub.epa.gov/supercpad/cursites/csitinfo.cfm?id=0801478
Colorado State Attorney Generals Office -
http://www.ago.state.co.us/ENVIRON/uaridx.htm
Colorado
State Department of Health and Environment-
http://www.cdphe.state.co.us/hm/rpcalgulch.asp
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Contacts
If
you have any questions or comments related to the Upper
Arkansas River Basin NRDA, contact us via email or telephone:
Laura
Archuleta- Contaminants Specialist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, phone 719-655-6121, fax 719-655-2502.
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