The building was known as the Environmental Analytical Laboratory, and was used to analyze soil, water, and air samples collected during the environmental clean-up of RMA. 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. American bison are reintroduced to the site that same year as part of a nationwide conservation effort. Jefferson County Finds Itself Up a Tree Over Controversial Forest-Thinning Practices, Dominion Has the Cure for Foxitis: $1.6 Billion Defamation Lawsuit, Celebrate the 303: From Crocs to Cannabis, Colorado Has Your Number, No Liberal Tears: We Build the Wall's Colorado Conspirator Sentencing PostponedAgain, Have Thoughts About the Denver Moves Everyone Plan? 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. 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. The Denver series was forgotten, however temporarily, in October 1966, when a southeast Colorado tremor rocked a 15,000 square-mile area of that State and bordering New Mexico. The Energy Department told the state it has no current plans to change the classification. Photo source: Denver Post But forty years ago, a series of quakes rocked the Denver area -- quakes caused not by Mother Nature, but by Uncle Sam. Residents were generally shaken, but no damage was sustained. 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. The magnitude 5.2 event caused widespread minor damage in the suburban areas of northeast Denver. The Army discontinued use of the well in Feb. 1966 because of the possibility that the fluid injection was triggering earthquakes in the area. The contaminated soils cleanup phase of the process was completed in 2010. 2007The EPA honors the RMA with its national Land Revitalization Award. The Rocky Mountain Arsenal (RMA) is a former chemical weapons manufacturing facility located just outside and northwest of the Denver, Colorado metropolitan area (Figure 21). 1941Japan attacks Pearl Harbor, and the United States enters World War II. Since then, the US Army started to operate the 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. 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. The cleanup was completed in 2010 and five large parcels of land have been deleted from the NPL . Additionally, studies performed at Colorado State University found no increased risk of Arsenic, Mercury, or neurotoxicity in communities within 15 miles of the RMA.[16][17]. 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. Fish and Wildlife Service management, and they now protect black bears and black-footed ferrets, coral reefs and brushy steppes, rare birds and imperiled salmon. The Army and Shell Oil Co. began conducting detailed site investigations in the 1970s to define the extent of contamination. The government converted them into refuges under U.S. Many slight shocks occurred near the well during this period. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has sued the U.S. Army claiming that dangerous chemicals including pesticides continue to leach into groundwater at Rocky Mountain Arsenal . Telling stories that matter in a dynamic, evolving state. Several were felt, but none caused damage until the window breaker that surprised Dupont and Irondale on the night of December 4. 1973The Vietnam Conflict ends, and demilitarization becomes the primary focus of the RMA. Many homeowners reported wall, ceiling, floor, patio, sidewalk, and foundation cracks. A separate study of cancer incidence by the Colorado Department of Health did not find convincing evidence of increased cancer risk in people living in residential areas surrounding the arsenal,[15] although the study was made more difficult by the large demographic changes in the area and was also confounded by smoking and obesity rates. The following data were derived from the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission. (1 of 9), SITE HISTORY - Rocky Mountain Arsenal was listed on the NPL in 1987. This resulted in subsequent earthquakes in Denver area. Parts of a C-shaped buffer zone around the perimeter are open to visitors asHanford Reach National Monument. Coinciding with these activities, from 1946 to 1982, the Army leased RMA facilities to private industries for the production of pesticides. RMA contained a deep injection well that was constructed in 1961. As production declined at wars end, the U.S. Army leased some of the facilities to private companies, one of which Shell Oil Co. purchased, for the production of agricultural chemicals. The contamination of the underlying alluvial aquifer occurred due to the discharge of waste into unlined basins. The second largest earthquake in the Denver series occurred on November 26, 1967. 1943RMA employees work around the clock to manufacture mustard gas, Lewisite, chlorine gas and incendiary weapons. To read the report, click, Archives: Project Descriptions / Fact Sheets, Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil. Theoretically, if the Earth still exists in the year 3000, theyll still be monitoring groundwater at the arsenal, he said. 2010All surface environmental cleanup work concludes. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS A local shock awakened a few persons in Commerce City November 25. Known today as an urban national wildlife refuge, the Rocky Mountain Arsenal traces its beginnings to the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor, which brought the United States into World War II. After 42 years of chemical manufacturing, in 1984, the United States Army began to inspect the level of contamination at Rocky Mountain Arsenal (RMA). All field work should be completed in March 2023. 1996The U.S. Army, Shell and U.S. An official website of the United States government. This soil is contained in hazardous waste landfills. Spills occurred in the central processing areas, storage areas, and out of chemical sewers that existed underground. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment found no increased risk of birth defects in infants. The first of the major chemical demilitarization programs to be undertaken at Rocky Mountain Arsenal was the disposal of the obsolete If you have additional questions, please call 303.289.0300. In 1985 the Army permanently sealed the disposal well in stages. Further, in 1961, the Army constructed a 12,000-foot deep injection well for the disposal of wastes. The primary contaminants include organochloride pesticides, organophosphate pesticides, carbamate insecticides, organic solvents and feedstock chemicals used as raw products or intermediates in the manufacturing process (e.g., chlorinated benzenes), heavy metals, chemical warfare material and their related breakdown products and biological warfare agent such as TX. Not for the "stupid price" of $150 an acre foot. The brochure contains general information, license requirements, fee requirements, and a list of fish species. Early 1980sAll production at the RMA ceases, and the mission shifts to environmental remediation and restoration. 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. For questions about Refuge programs and conservation efforts, please contact the U.S. By year end, the United States has out-produced the Axis . 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. 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. A lock (LockA locked padlock) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. 1942The U.S. Army establishes the Rocky Mountain Arsenal to produce chemical weapons as a war-time deterrent. Many residents reported it was the strongest earthquake they had ever experienced. That said, it would be better if they were cleaned up more thoroughly.. The Energy Department estimates it will cost between $323 billion and $677 billion more to finish the costliest cleanup, at the Hanford Site in Washington state where the government produced plutonium for bombs and missiles. Fish and Wildlife Service andShell Oil Company. In the early 1960s, the U.S. Army began to lease out its facilities to private companies to manufacture pesticides. Legislators quickly moved from beneath chandeliers in the Denver Capitol Building, fearing they might fall. [3] After the bald eagles were captured, tested, and found to be healthy, the National Wildlife Federation worked with policymakers to transition RMA to a wildlife refuge. The site was completed December 1942,[1] operated by the United States Army throughout the later 20th century and was controversial among local residents until its closure in 1992. Several reported basement floors separated from walls. This was further exacerbated when the U.S. Army discovered an endangered species, the bald eagle. In April 2007 Dick's Sporting Goods Park, a soccer-specific stadium, was opened on part of the former Rocky Mountain Arsenal land that was transferred to Commerce City. Slighter rumblings (below magnitude 3.0) occurred throughout the remainder of 1966, and through the first week of April 1967. Site reviews will be conducted every five years to make sure the cleanup remedy is still effective. 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. A 14-year, $2-billion remediation effort begun in 1996 will turn most of the arsenal into a national wildlife refuge. (La hoja de datos tambin est disponible en espaol aqu.). Trace amounts of the chemical 1,4-dioxane has been found in some samples of drinking water. The Rocky Mountain Arsenal was a United States chemical weapons manufacturing center located in the Denver Metropolitan Area in Commerce City, Colorado. 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. Estimating exact direct and indirect impact of the contamination is very challenging as the cleaning and monitoring costs are complex. Share Them by March 3. In September 2017, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment sued the U.S. Army, U.S. An astonishing array of animals and habitats flourished on six obsolete weapons complexes mostly for nuclear or chemical arms because the sites banned the public and other intrusions for decades, Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), In this Oct. 13, 2005, file photo, deer cross a road striped of its asphalt at the former Rocky Flats Nuclear Weapons plant near Golden, Colo. (Ed Andrieski, AP File photo), How Denver is spending the $41M from the Broncos sale, Three members of Colorados congressional delegation seek $60 billion to reduce wildfire risk, restore Western land, Troubled K.P. In September 2010, the cleanup was considered complete, and the remaining portions of land were transferred to the U.S. 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. The military reserved the right to oust these companies and restart chemical weapon production in the event of a national emergency. The CDPHE issued the Army a notice of non-compliance, claiming its containment and treatment measures were not working. 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. Some were among the most dangerously polluted sites in the nation but held swaths of hard-to-find habitat. 24,590 were here. 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. In 1982, all production at the site stopped, and the Arsenals mission changed to environmental cleanup and restoration. Thousands of ducks died after coming in contact with its wastewater ponds in the 1950s. Beginning in 1942, the arsenal was the main site at which the Chemical Corps manufactured chemical weapons such as mustard gas, nerve gas, and phosgene.The Army eventually leased part of the 27 mi 2 (70 km 2) plot of . In 1992, Congress designated the sites as a wildlife refuge. 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. By the end of December 1962, 190 earthquakes had occurred. Montbello is located to the south of the RMA, and Commerce City to the west. 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. 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. It was estimated by the U.S. 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). A similar shock, magnitude 4.1, centered in the Denver area November 15. Its not because the Department of Defense has some ecological ethic, said Havlick, author of a book about conversions, Bombs Away: Militarization, Conservation, and Ecological Restoration.. Groundwater treatment will continue until all water leaving the site meets state and federal standards. The Rocky Mountain Arsenal, located ten minutes outside of downtown Denver, Colorado, offers one of the most unique urban wildlife refuges in the country. Many mammals and birds were found dead and may have suffered lower reproduction rates or birth defects.[11]. and help keep the future of Westword, Use of this website constitutes acceptance of our, Denver boot puts the lock on the Global Business Travel Association bash. Last week, on December 8, 2015, the Rocky Mountain Arsenal rounded up the bison herd to gather animals that had been selected for donation to the Crane Trust--a bison conservation . After a $2.1 billion cleanup, the site was reborn as Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge, with 24 square miles of idyllic prairie where visitors can take scenic drives or hikes. Heavy volatile contaminants related to Basin F raised concern among the public for the site and the process of the clean-up itself of the Arsenal and a medical monitoring program (MMP) was put in place as part of the Record of Decision (ROD) between the U.S. Army, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the Colorado Department of Health and Environment in 1996. The Rocky Mountain Arsenal was placed on the National Priorities List of Superfund sites in July 1987. There are multiple paved, boardwalk, or gravel trail options with a variety of lengths and difficulty levels available. The shock shuffled furniture around in homes, and left electrical wall outlets hanging by their wires at Irondale. The JARDF is located at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal, 7270 Kingston Parkway, Building 129, Commerce City, CO 80022-1749. Located just north of Denver, in Commerce City and close to the Stapleton Airport, the U.S. Army purchased 20,000 acres (81km2). The Friends of the Front Range Wildlife Refuges (FFRWR) is a community that supports the two largest national wildlife refuges in the Denver metro area-the Rocky Mountain Arsenal and the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuges. 1952Shell Chemical Co. purchases Julius Hyman and Company and continues to manufacture agricultural chemicals at the RMA until 1982. 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. In 2006, 7,126 additional acres were transferred. Its location was selected because it is far from the coast and it has sufficient labor force. After the war, it became a bustling center of industrial. Throughout the decades of cleanup, the air monitors revealed there was no safety hazard to public health as no arsenal chemicals had been released into the air. Drop us a note at tips@coloradosun.com. The Army needs to find a way to clean up the depleted uranium safely.. They have been left in place to excavate, so they have been left in place. The perfect trail for those who like to enjoy nature from the comfort of their air-conditioned vehicle with a latte in hand. Most handled conventional weapons, not nuclear or chemical. The U.S. 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. An astonishing array of animals and habitats flourished onsix obsolete weapons complexes mostly for nuclear or chemical arms because the sites banned the public and other intrusions for decades. 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. Rocky Mountain Arsenal, among other post-military sites, was a top priority, establishing RMA as a superfund site. 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. Fish and Wildlife Service that at least 20,000 ducks died in a 10-year span during the 1970s. At that time, liquid waste disposal methods were employed in an attempt to prevent the chemical contamination from spreading further including lining one of the basins with asphalt, and injection of the waste chemicals into a deep well, but these techniques were ultimately unsuccessful. But CERCLA empowers Colorado to enforce federal standards, the lawsuit claims. Fish and Wildlife Service inventoried more than 330 species of wildlife that inhabit the Arsenal including deer, coyotes, white pelicans and owls. EPA and the State concurred with the approach. 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. And the biggest bills have yet to be paid. Rocky Mountain Arsenal. Farmers in the vicinity complained about the damage to crops due to the water pumped from the shallow alluvial aquifer. The military closed the sites to keep people safe from the dangerous work that went on there, not to save the environment, said Havlick of the University of Colorado. Damage on a lesser scale occurred throughout the area. 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. 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. A small herd of wild bison was introduced to the refuge in March 2007 as part of the USFWS Bison Project. In some cases, they could have conceivably made the site into something that was economically valuable, but that would have cost more, Rome said. If agency officials believed the sites were unsafe for the public, he said, they would not work there. Air monitoring surveillance continued until the end of July 2009. All of these constituents constitute threats to human health and the environment, the lawsuit says. 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. The defendants must build a system to actively dewater Shells trenches to prevent the mixing of effluent with groundwater, the lawsuit says. Rocky Mountain Arsenal continues to leak contaminants into groundwater, Colorado health department lawsuit says Contaminants include organochlorine pesticides, heavy metals and solvents. The manufacturing of these weapons continued until 1969. Converting a heavily polluted weapons complex into a wildlife refuge is cheaper than making it safe for homes, schools and businesses, said Adam Rome, who teaches environmental history at the State University of New York at Buffalo. Theyre there all the time, Madison said. 1943From 1943 to 1946, the Rose Hill Prisoners of War Camp houses captured German soldiers at the RMA. Opinion: Colorado farms going fallow? It was also helpful that the location was close to Stapleton airfield, a major transportation hub.[5]. It was felt at Laramie, Wyoming, to the northwest, east to Goodland, Kansas, and south to Pueblo, Colorado. 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. [20] In the case of Rocky Mountain Arsenal, total indirect cost was not estimated at all. Replacement water for South Adams County Water and Sanitation District. The land has a unique story - it has survived the test of time and transitioned from farmland, to war-time manufacturing site, to wildlife sanctuary. Lake Skipper (s): Fish and Wildlife Service to establish a field office at the RMA to help manage the abundant wildlife. The 17,000-acre site is 10 miles northeast of Denver. Next, the injection zone at the bottom 70 feet of the well was closed by plugging with cement. [citation needed] Fish and Wildlife's Rocky Mountain Arsenal website. Otherkey partners include Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment, the local health department andlocal government officials, the Army,U.S. All manufacturing activities ended in 1982. 1999The RMA becomes the first environmental cleanup site in the nation to receive the Occupational Safety and Health Administrations (OSHA) highest workplace safety award. Depleted uranium fragments are scattered on the firing range among 1.5 million rounds of unexploded shells, which makes cleanup dangerous and expensive. Hanford where the cleanup has already cost at least $48 billion and hundreds of billions more are projected may be the most troubled refuge of all. State health officials are asking the federal courts to intervene to stop the contamination on the north and northwest boundaries of the trenches. (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." 1966Following reports of localized earthquake tremors, the U.S. Army concludes the deep well injection program. Eating fish and game from the refuge is forbidden. It remained controversial among residents until it was closed in 1992. Roughly 10 miles (16 kilometers) from downtown Denver, the arsenal was once an environmental nightmare where chemical weapons and commercial pesticides were made. 1947The U.S. Army places the RMA on standby status and leases some facilities to private industry. The U.S. Army permanently manages. 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. In September of that year, the Army began removing fluid from the Arsenal well at a very slow rate, in hope that earthquake activity would lessen. However, when the Basin F liquids were actually introduced, the process required more time than anticipated to complete because of the impermeability of the rock. These field activities began in the fall of 1997 and significant portions of the cleanup have already been accomplished. The refuge was created on the buffer zone surrounding the production area. 1943RMA employees work around the clock to manufacture mustard gas, Lewisite, chlorine gas and incendiary weapons. 1984The U.S. Army conducts the RMA Remedial Investigation / Feasibility Study, which includes the systematic investigation of contamination and the development and evaluation of cleanupalternatives. Photos source: US Fish and Wildlife Service Solid and liquid chemical hazardous wastes were disposed of in trenches, burn pits and pooled in open basins covering wide areas. Just watch where you step. Contaminated areas of soil remain in the Rocky Mountain Arsenal, but are contained in basins and containment structures.[11]. Now a majority are voluntarily adopting them. Critics sayRocky Mountain Arsenalin Colorado illustrates the shortcomings of a cleanup designed to be good enough for a refuge but not for human habitation. 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