Argo Mine: Brownfields Remediation
Project
Download
the Analysis of Brownfields
Cleanup Alternatives (ABCA) (3.2MB pdf)
Current Status
Boulder County has hired Smith Environmental & Engineering (SMITH) to
act as the environmental consultant for this project. Parks and Open
Space has discussed proposed clean-up alternatives with EPA, the
Colorado Division of Reclamation Mining and Safety, Colorado Department
of Public Health and Environment, Boulder County Public Health, the Left
Hand Watershed Oversight Group (LWOG), and SMITH.
Public Comment
- Parks and Open Space and SMITH have prepared the ABCA, which was
presented to the Town of Jamestown in a public meeting on June 2, 2008.
- Boulder County Parks and Open Space also accepted public
comments online, in person and postal mail on the ABCA from June 2 through July 7, 2008.
- Staff presented to the
Parks and Open Space Advisory Committee (POSAC)
on July 24, 2008.
- The remediation plans for the site will be taken through the Boulder
County Land Use Limited Impact Special Use (LISU) process. The LISU
application will be submitted in late July 2008. The land use process
provides an additional public forum where comments will be solicited
from adjacent landowners and government agencies.
- Land Use staff will
present their recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners, where
ultimately the Board will approve the course of action for remediation.
- Throughout the public process for ABCA review and the Land Use
process, LWOG will work with Boulder County to help coordinate public
outreach.
Project Background
Boulder County Parks and Open Space has undertaken a cleanup of the
Argo Mine in the Little James Creek watershed. The cleanup is partially
funded by a Brownfields grant from the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA). The primary goal of the clean up effort is to reduce discharge of
heavy metals into Little James Creek.
The Argo Mine property is contaminated due to historic mining
activities. Precious metal mining began in the Lefthand Watershed in the
mid 1800s. According to local historians, Lefthand Creek was the
principal millstream of Boulder County. The Argo Mine, along with
hundreds of other hard rock mines in the watershed, was historically
mined for Fluorspar until the mid-1940s. Mining activity in the
watershed stopped in the early 1980s, and no mines or mills currently
operate in the watershed.
In 2001 the Boulder County Board of Health appointed the Lefthand
Watershed Task Force out of concern that mounting evidence pointed to a
need to alleviate mine waste impacts in the watershed. This task force
has evolved into the currently active Lefthand Watershed Oversight Group
(www.lwog.org).
The task force evaluated a series of reports and sediment and water
samples from numerous public and private agencies that had evaluated
various portions of the watershed.
The task force prepared a report listing prioritized rankings for
each contaminated mine site, and supported consideration of one of the
sites in the Lefthand Watershed for Superfund listing. Other sites were
to be cleaned up through private endeavors or other available means.
The Argo Mine was a mine-scarred site recommended for cleanup under a
private effort. Additional recommendations by the Task Force included
continued community involvement in the implementation of clean-up
efforts.
When Boulder County purchased the Mehl property (Argo Mine) in
December 2000, Boulder County was aware of coordinated efforts between
EPA, CDPHE and Boulder County Public Health in various locations
surrounding Jamestown and the Lefthand Watershed. Even with this
information, Boulder County was unaware that the Argo Mine was
contributing to the environmental contamination of Little James Creek.
Boulder County purchased the property, together with a cluster of other
properties, at the request of residents from Jamestown and other
mountain communities.
The Argo Mine is presently held by Boulder County as a publicly owned
open space property managed by the Parks and Open Space department. The
property is not open to the public because of public safety and
environmental contamination from past mining activities.
Contact
Barry Shook
Project Coordinator
Boulder County Parks and Open Space
bshook@bouldercounty.org
303-678-6183
Other websites with information for this project:
Lefthand Watershed Oversight Group: (www.lwog.org).
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