Community Involvement Plan, Revised January 2008
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Community Involvement Plan for Rocky Mountain Arsenal Contamination Cleanup Public Relations Office Revised Plan published January 2008 Original Plan published in May 1990 1st Revision May 1995 2nd Revision June 1998 3rd Revision December 2000 4th Revision October 2001 5th Revision March 2004 Table of Contents Table of Contents................................................................................................................. i List of Acronyms .............................................................................................................1-1 1 Introduction..............................................................................................................1-1 2 Site Description and History....................................................................................2-1 2.1 Site Description................................................................................................2-1 2.2 Site History......................................................................................................2-1 3 Cleanup Program.....................................................................................................3-1 3.1 Completed Cleanup Projects............................................................................3-1 3.2 Current Cleanup Projects .................................................................................3-4 3.3 Upcoming Cleanup Projects ............................................................................3-5 4 Government Agencies and Organizations ...............................................................4-1 4.1 Remediation Venture Office (RVO)................................................................4-1 4.2 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)................................................4-1 4.3 Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) ..............4-1 4.4 Tri-County Health Department (TCHD) .........................................................4-1 4.5 Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry (ATSDR) ........................4-1 5 Community Background..........................................................................................5-1 5.1 Community Profile...........................................................................................5-1 Commerce City ........................................................................................................5-2 Stapleton ..................................................................................................................5-3 Brighton ...................................................................................................................5-4 Henderson ................................................................................................................5-4 Montbello.................................................................................................................5-4 5.2 History of Community Involvement................................................................5-5 6 Community Interviews.............................................................................................6-1 6.1 Results of Community Interviews ...................................................................6-1 7 Activities, Objectives and Timing ...........................................................................7-1 APPENDIX A................................................................................................................. A-1 Community Involvement Coordinators ...................................................................... A-1 APPENDIX B ................................................................................................................. B-1 Elected Officials.......................................................................................................... B-1 APPENDIX C ................................................................................................................. C-1 Interested Parties......................................................................................................... C-1 APPENDIX D................................................................................................................. D-1 Restoration Advisory Board Members ....................................................................... D-1 APPENDIX E ..................................................................................................................E-1 Information Repositories .............................................................................................E-1 APPENDIX F...................................................................................................................F-1 Community Meeting Locations ...................................................................................F-1 APPENDIX G................................................................................................................. G-1 2007 Interview Questionnaire..................................................................................... G-1 APPENDIX H................................................................................................................. H-1 Contaminants of Concern ........................................................................................... H-1 i List of Acronyms ATSDR Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry CAB Citizen Advisory Board CDPHE Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment CERCLA Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act CIP Community Involvement Plan DIA Denver International Airport EPA Environmental Protection Agency FFA Federal Facility Agreement HWL Hazardous Waste Double-Lined Landfill IRA Interim Response Action MMAG Medical Monitoring Advisory Group MSA Metropolitan Statistical Area NPL National Priorities List OSHA Occupational Safety and Health Administration RAB Restoration Advisory Board RCRA Resource Conservation and Recovery Act RI/FS Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study RMA Rocky Mountain Arsenal ROD Record of Decision RVO Remediation Venture Office RVPRO Remediation Venture Public Relations Office SSAB Site Specific Advisory Board TCHD Tri-County Health Department TTEC Tetra Tech Environmental Corporation VPP Voluntary Protection Program ii Rocky Mountain Arsenal Community Involvement Plan January 2008 1 Introduction This Community Involvement Plan (CIP) has been developed pursuant to 42 USC 11001 et seq., to guide and facilitate the Remediation Venture Public Relations Office’s (RVPRO) interaction with the communities near the Rocky Mountain Arsenal (RMA) about the cleanup program and transition to a National Wildlife Refuge. The Remediation Venture Office (RVO) is composed of the U.S. Army (lead agency), Shell Oil Company (Shell) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). The Army has revised and updated the CIP based on information recently gathered from community interviews, and to reflect recent residential and business growth near the site. The CIP was last updated in March 2004. The CIP contains the following: • Site description and history; • Details about the environmental cleanup projects; • The government agencies and organizations involved with the site; • Community background and profile; • History of the public involvement effort; • Community interviews summary; and • RMA’s communications program. The CIP supports the RVPRO’s mission to inform, encourage dialogue and receive input from stakeholders and the general public about RMA’s history, cleanup and wildlife and its transition to a national wildlife refuge. 1-1 Rocky Mountain Arsenal Community Involvement Plan January 2008 2 Site Description and History 2.1 Site Description RMA is located 10 miles northeast of downtown Denver, Colorado, adjacent to Commerce City and Brighton to the north, Montbello to the south, Denver International Airport to the east, and Commerce City to the west. Residential homes border the site to the north, south and west, and residential and business development is rapidly growing in these areas. 2.2 Site History In 1942, at the height of World War II, the Army purchased 17,000 acres of land to manufacture chemical weapons such as mustard gas and white phosphorus. Private industry was encouraged to lease facilities at RMA after the war to foster economic growth in the area, offset operational costs, and maintain facilities for national security. Under the lease program, Julius Hyman and Company began producing pesticides in 1946. In 1952, Shell Chemical Company acquired Julius Hyman and Company and continued to produce agricultural pesticides on site until 1982. Common industrial and waste disposal practices used by the Army and Shell during these years resulted in the contamination of structures, soil, surface water, sediment, and groundwater. In 1984, the Army began a systematic investigation of site contamination in accordance with the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980 and as a result, the site was placed on the National Priorities List (NPL) in 1987. As required by CERCLA, a Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS) was conducted to determine the nature and extent of the contamination and to develop and evaluate remedial alternatives. The Army, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Shell signed two documents in the late 1980s. The first was the Federal Facility Agreement (FFA) that specified the process by which decisions will be made for the