According to National Resource Damage Assessment, although the contamination has been reduced by the treatment efforts, the water in and around the arsenal may never be fully clean. Three criteria were es Annual Highlights from Rocky Mountain Arsenal, Rocky Mountain Arsenal has recently published its annual community report. Many slight shocks occurred near the well during this period. The second largest earthquake in the Denver series occurred on November 26, 1967. 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. 1942The U.S. Army establishes the Rocky Mountain Arsenal to produce chemical weapons as a war-time deterrent. 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. The Rocky Mountain Arsenal was a United States chemical weapons manufacturing center located in the Denver Metropolitan Area in Commerce City, Colorado. The Rocky Mountain Arsenal was created out of farmland on the eastern edge of metro Denver during World War II to arm the U.S. Army. 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. If you have additional questions, please call 303.289.0300. The refuge was created on the buffer zone surrounding the production area. 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. Some waste disposal pits presented short-term hazards sufficient to preclude their excavation. 2007The EPA honors the RMA with its national Land Revitalization Award. Its location was selected because it is far from the coast and it has sufficient labor force. A lateral was built off the High Line Canal to supply water to the Arsenal. The site was placed on the National Priorities List (NPL), a list of the most contaminated areas in the United States. The history of the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge stretches back more than 60 years. The cleanup of the refuge's 15,000 acres was completed in 2010. Tensions arose between the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), the State of Colorado, United States Army, and the chemical industries as they partnered to clean up the site and create the RMANWR. All manufacturing activities ended in 1982. 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 . A local shock awakened a few persons in Commerce City November 25. The Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge is 15,000 acres and features three lakes that are home to over 300 species of wildlife. 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. The Army discontinued use of the well in Feb. 1966 because of the possibility that the fluid injection was triggering earthquakes in the area. 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. It remained controversial among residents until it was closed in 1992. 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. Contaminated areas of soil remain in the Rocky Mountain Arsenal, but are contained in basins and containment structures.[11]. For questions about Refuge programs and conservation efforts, please contact the U.S. The Off-Post Record of Decision was finalized in December 1995 and its requirements consist of actions for off-site groundwater and soil. 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. Other demographics of the mother were gathered as well. Many homeowners reported wall, ceiling, floor, patio, sidewalk, and foundation cracks. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Shell Oil for failure to obtain a proper-post closure permit for Basin F, a section of the Rocky Mountain Arsenal. Despite the complicated and expensive cleanups, significant contamination has been left behind, some experts say. A volume of approximately 52,500 acre-feet (65 million cubic metres) of the alluvial aquifer is not usable for human consumption. In 1996, after a lengthy process in which site investigations were conducted and completed, an approach to remedy the chemical contamination at the Arsenal was set forth by the US Army. [6][7] Share Them by March 3. 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. SITE HISTORY - Rocky Mountain Arsenal was listed on the NPL in 1987. Soldiers test-fired millions of artillery rounds at the proving ground, some made of depleted uranium. Starting in 1942, the U.S. Army used the 27-mile site for the manufacture, assembly, and disposal . 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. Beginning in October 2012, testing has revealed that pollutants have escaped the Shell trenches and groundwater is likely coming into contact with the waste and migrating out of the trenches, the lawsuit says. By the end of December 1962, 190 earthquakes had occurred. Several persons scurried into the streets when buildings started shaking back and forth. 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. Roughly 10 miles (16 kilometers) from downtown Denver, the arsenal was once an environmental nightmare where chemical weapons and commercial pesticides were made. (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. Office of Public Health Practice, Planning, and Local Partnerships, Chemicals from firefighting foam & other sources, Colorado Legacy Land/Lincoln Park Superfund site, Test & Fix Water for Kids at Family Child Care Homes, Toxicology and environmental epidemiology, Engage with the Water Quality Control Division, Hazardous Materials and Waste Management Division, Bonanza Mining District Restoration Project, Colorado Smelter Community Advisory Group, Colorado Smelter Pamphlets, Charts, Forms and Reports. The Army and Shell operated Basin F, a hazardous waste surface impoundment for the storage and treatment of liquid and solid hazardous wastes, but the facility leaked wastes into the environment after waste disposal ended in 1981, the lawsuit says. An official website of the United States government. Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge has catch-and-release fishing from the first Saturday in April through November 30 daily from sunrise to sunset. 1962Treated liquid waste is injected into a deep well located more than 12,000 feet below the ground surface. During November 1967, the Denver region was shaken by five moderate earthquakes. Some were among the most dangerously polluted sites in the nation but held swaths of hard-to-find habitat. Contaminants included solvents, metals, pesticides, and miscellaneous manufacturing-related chemicals. Another strong shock rumbled through the Denver area on November 14, 1966, causing some damage at Commerce City and Eastlake. To read the report, click here. The Surveillance for Birth Defects utilized passive observational data from an existing birth defects registry March 1989 March 2009. More recently, it has been used as a storage facility for excess office furniture and equipment. This is unprecedented: Avian flu has killed 12,000 birds in Colorado, Smart sensors on I-25 promise really significant traffic improvements, pilot study shows, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge, Denver just got a direct flight to this Caribbean island known for music history and vegetarian cooking, Denver gang member gave 14-year-old permission to open fire on woman with AR-15 after fender-bender, DA alleges, Multiple Colorado schools temporarily placed under secure status due to threats, Denver East High student dies more than two weeks after being shot outside school, Letters: Proposed age limit for gun ownership in Colorado doesn't make sense. Organochlorine pesticides, heavy metals, agent degradation products and manufacturing by-products, and chlorinated and aromatic solvents are getting into groundwater in unsafe levels, it says. Birth defects included in the analysis were: "total congenital anomalies, major congenital anomalies, heart defects, muscle and skeletal defects, and kidney and bladder defects," and these categories were inconsistent in reporting accuracy. Keeping our congressional leaders . Minor damage, in the form of broken windows and dishes and cracked walls and plaster, occurred at Aguilar, Segundo, Trinchera, and Trinidad. Who makes the best hot chicken sandwich in Denver? The land is sold to Commerce City for commercial and retail development. A similar shock, magnitude 4.1, centered in the Denver area November 15. U.S. A civic center, high school, soccer complexand public open space are also located here. Fish and Wildlife Service andShell Oil Company. After 42 years of chemical manufacturing, in 1984, the United States Army began to inspect the level of contamination at Rocky Mountain Arsenal (RMA). Feds light fires at Rocky Mountain Arsenal to restore prairie for multiplying bison and the visitors who flock there Prescribed fire is meant to invigorate about 875 acres of short-grass . EPA and the State concurred with the approach. This new publication offers highlights from the past year, along with news about upcoming projects scheduled for 2022. In the early 1980s the site was selected as a Superfund site and the cleanup process began. 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 . The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment found no increased risk of birth defects in infants. The site was placed in 1987 on the EPAs National Priorities List, which is also known as the Superfund list. Further testing revealed that the containment issue is an ongoing problem, the lawsuit says. During removal of contaminated soil and construction of the remedy containment structures, air monitoring was conducted at multiple sites in the Arsenals interior and fence line, and several sites in the surrounding communities. A monitoring program was developed to monitor the success of exposure prevention efforts during the environmental cleanup at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal. 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. 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. In its own account of the cleanup at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal, the Army web site offers this explanation: The Rocky Mountain Arsenal deep injection well was constructed in 1961, and was drilled to a depth of 12,045 feet. 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). 1995-1996Following extensive community input, the Off-Post and On-Post Records of Decision (ROD) are signed. CERCLA also gave the Federal government the authority to respond to the release of life-threatening hazardous materials.[2]. The timeline below highlights important milestones from each decade. 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