Media Advisory: Public Input Sought on Arsenal
Environmental Damages
Colorado Attorney General seeking compensation from Shell, U.S. Army
November 7, 2007—Denver Who:
Officials of the Colorado Attorney General’s Office, the
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE),
and the
Colorado Department of Natural Resources, acting on behalf
of the State
of Colorado’s Natural Resource Trustees: Colorado Attorney
General
John Suthers; Executive Director Jim Martin, Colorado
Department of
Public Health and Environment; and Ron Cattany, Colorado
Department of
Natural Resources. What:
A public meeting to invite input on the Natural Resource
Damage
Assessment Plan for the Rocky Mountain Arsenal, Commerce
City, Colorado
(a copy is available at
http://www.cdphe.state.co.us/hm/rmaplan.htm). When:
6 p.m., Nov. 14, 2007 Where:
The Derby Resource Center, 7270 Monaco St., Commerce City, Colo. From Denver:· North on Colorado Boulevard; bear right
to stay
on Colorado Highway 2· Continue north past 72nd Avenue· Take
the
immediate right past Younger Bros. Lumber onto 72nd Place·
Go two
blocks. The resource center is on the left side of the
street. Parking
is available at the site and on the street. Why:
A newly released Natural Resource Damage Assessment Plan
finds
evidence of past and ongoing natural resource injuries
caused by
chemical production at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal and sets
forth the
State’s intended approach for completing an assessment of
those
injuries and resulting monetary damages. The Assessment Plan
found
significant harm to natural resources on and off the Arsenal
site,
including contaminated groundwater and injured wildlife. The
Assessment,
when completed, would provide the basis of a legal claim to
recover
damages for environmental harms from Shell and the Army
should the
parties be unable to settle the claim. Although cleanup
actions at the
Arsenal are scheduled to end in 2010, contamination will
remain indefinitely.The assessment plan will be available for
review and
comment by the public through Nov. 30, 2007, and the State
will seek
public input throughout the assessment process. Media
Resources:
Map of estimated extent of a combined contaminant plume
(trichloroethylene, benzene, chloroform, dibromochloropropane, and
dieldrin) in the shallow alluvial
aquifer at
http://www.ago.state.co.us/PR/Comm/1.jpg Map of extent
of detectable diisopropyl methylphosphonate (DIMP)
in
shallow groundwater in 1994, according to
USGS at
http://www.ago.state.co.us/PR/Comm/2.jpg Map of
estimated extent of the combined contaminant plume (Figure
5.10)
and a combined DIMP and chloride
plume
http://www.ago.state.co.us/PR/Comm/3.jpg. Examples of the
distance
that communities near the Arsenal have gone to obtain
reliable water
supplies at
http://www.ago.state.co.us/PR/Comm/4.jpg Map of wells
near the Arsenal owned by municipal water
suppliers at
http://www.ago.state.co.us/PR/Comm/5.jpg Map of
complainants noting persistent noxious odors during the
Basin F
interim response action at
http://www.ago.state.co.us/PR/Comm/6.jpg. --30-- |
