Record of Decision Amendment for OU 6, California Gulch

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Record of Decision Amendment for OU 6, California Gulch 1167638-R8SDMS Record of Decision Amendment Operable Unit 6 - Stray Horse Gulch California Gulch Superfund Site Laiic County, Colorado September 2010 U. S. Environmental Protection Agency 1595 Wynkoop Street Denver, CO 80202 Amendment to 2003 ROD September 2010 0U6 Stray Horse Gulch, California Gulch Superfund Site DECLARATION SITE NAME AND LOCATION Operable Unit 6 California Gulch Superfund Site Lake County, Colorado CERCLIS #COD980717938 STATEMENT OF BASIS AND PURPOSE This decision document presents the Selected Remedy Modification for Operable Unit 6 (0U6) of the Califomia Gulch Superfund Site (Site) in Lake County, Colorado. The Environmental Protection Agency selected the remedy modification in accordance with the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), as amended by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA), and to the extent practicable, the National Contingency Plan (NCP). This decision is based on the Administrative Record for OU6. The State of Colorado (State) concurs with the Selected Remedy. ASSESSMENT OF THE SITE The Response Action selected in this Record of Decision (ROD) Amendment is necessary to protect public health or welfare or the environment from actual or threatened releases of hazardous substances and pollutants or contaminants from 0U6 which may present an imminent and substantial endangerment to public health or welfare. DESCRIPTION OF THE SELECTED REMEDY MODIFICATION The Califomia Gulch Superfund Site is located in Lake County, Colorado, approximately 100 miles southwest of Denver. About 18 square miles in size, the Site includes the City of Leadville, including Stringtown along with surrounding areas. Added to the National Priority List (NPL) in 1983, the Site is divided into 12 operable units. 0U6, which is the subject of this ROD Amendment, includes approximately 3.4 square miles in the northeastem portion of the Site and includes the Stray Horse Gulch and Evans Gulch watersheds. This ROD Amendment only concerns the Stray Horse Gulch portion of OU6. The 0U6 Record of Decision signed in 2003 combined two cleanup strategies to address acid rock drainage (ARD) from sources in Stray Horse Gulch: (1) consolidate and cap four mine waste rock piles and one tailing pile, and (2) manage surface water in Stray Horse Gulch. The consolidation and capping performed to date effectively reduced or eliminated ARD generation at the mine waste rock piles and tailing pile that were consolidated and capped. The surface water management strategy involved two components. The first was the construction of clean water diversion ditches uphill of the remaining ARD generating sources. A survey of the previously constructed clean water diversion structures revealed these structures may not capture and divert the maximum possible amount of clean water. Un-captured water may contribute to the generation of ARD. Amendment to 2003 ROD September 2010 OU6 Stray Horse Gulch, Califomia Gulch Superfund Site The second component of the surface water management strategy involved the construction of diversion ditches and retention ponds to collect ARD generated from the uncapped mine waste rock piles within Stray Horse Gulch. When the ARD generated exceeds the volume of the retention ponds, the excess volume is diverted into the Marion Shaft where some portion (but not all) of the volume is delivered to the Leadville Mine Drainage Tunnel (LMDT). Water in the LMDT is delivered to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation's (Reclamation) treatment plant where the water is treated and discharged into the Arkansas River. EPA and CDPHE are proposing to modify the surface water management portion of the 2003 remedy and perform additional capping of waste rock piles. The Selected Remedy modifications include: improving the clean water diversion components; capping additional mine waste rock piles to decrease the volume of ARD generated; enlarging and enhancing the current ARD collection system and retention ponds; eliminating the use of the LMDT and Reclamation treatment plant from the OU6 remedy except in the case of emergencies; siting and constructing a Site-wide repository in 0U6; and implementing institutional controls. STATUTORY DETERMINATIONS The Selected Remedy Modification is protective of human health and the environment, complies with federal and state requirements that are applicable or relevant and appropriate to the remedial action, is cost effective, and utilizes permanent solutions and altemative treatment technologies to the maximum extent practicable. This remedy does not satisfy the statutory preference for treatment as a principal element of the remedy. Because this remedy modification will result in hazardous substances, or pollutants or contaminants remaining in 0U6 above levels that allow for unlimited use and unrestricted exposure, a statutory review will be conducted within five years after initiation of remedial action to ensure that the remedy will be protective of human health and the environment. Based on feedback from verbal discussions and written comments received, this remedy is acceptable to both the State of Colorado and the community in Lake County. DATA CERTIFICATION CHECKLIST The following information is included in the Decision Summary section of this Record of Decision Amendment. Additional information can be found in the Administrative Record file for this Site. • Contaminants of concern (COCs) and their respective concentrations; • Baseline risk represented by the COCs; • Cleanup levels established for COCs and the basis for these levels; Amendment to 2003 ROD September 2010 OU6 Stray Horse Gulch, Califomia Gulch Superfund Site • Current and reasonably anticipated future land use assumptions used in the baseline risk assessment and ROD Amendment; • Potential land use that will be available at OU6 as a result of the Selected Remedy; • Estimated capital, annual operation and maintenance (O&M), and total present worth costs, discount rate, and the number of years over which the remedy cost estimates are projected; and • Key factor(s) that led to selecting the remedy. AUTHORIZING SIGNATURE Carol L. Campbell Date Assistant Regional Administrator Office of Ecosystems Protection and Remediation U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - Region 8 Amendment to 2003 ROD September 2010 OU6 Stray Horse Gulch, California Gulch Superfund Site DECISION SUMMARY Amendment to 2003 ROD September 2010 OU6 Stray Horse Gulch, Califomia Gulch Superfiind Site Table of Contents Description Page No. 1.0 Introduction 8 1.1 Summary of Basis for ROD Amendment 8 2.0 Site History, Contamination and Selected Remedy 9 2.1 Site Background 9 2.1.1 OU6 - Stray Horse Gulch Background 10 2.2 0U6 Characteristics 10 2.3 Contaminants of Concern 11 2.4 Summary of Risks 11 2.4.1 Human Health Risks 11 2.4.2 Ecological Risks 12 2.4.3 Aquatic Ecological Risk Assessment 12 2.4.4 Terrestrial Ecological Risk Assessment 12 2.5 Scope and Role 12 2.6 Remedial Action Objectives 12 2.7 Prior Response Actions 13 2.8 Summary of Altematives from the 2002 Focused 14 Feasibility Study and 2003 Record of Decision 2.9 Selected Altemative in the 2003 ROD 15 2.10 Aspects ofthe 2003 ROD Not hnplemented 15 3.0 Basis for Document 16 4.0 Descriptionof Proposed Remedy Modification 16 4.1 Altematives Considered in the Proposed Plan 16 4.1.1 No Further Action /Implementation Steps 16 Necessary Alternative 4.1.2 Proposed Altemative 17 5.0 Evaluation of Altematives 18 5.1 Overall Protection to Human Health and 19 the Environment 5.2 Compliance with Applicable or Relevant and 20 Appropriate Requirements (ARARs) 5.3 Long-term Effectiveness and Permanence 21 5.4 Reduction in Toxicity, Mobility or Volume 21 Through Treatment 5.5 Short-term Effectiveness 22 5.6 Implementability 22 5.7 Cost 22 5.8 State Acceptance 22 5.9 Community Acceptance 22 5.10 Principal Threat Wastes 22 6.0 Summary of the Selected Remedy Modification/Alternative 23 7.0 Support Agency Comments 23 8.0 Affirmation of the Statutory Determinations 23 8.1 Protection of Human Health and the Environment 23 8.2 Compliance with Applicable or Relevant and Appropriate 24 Requirements 8.3 Cost-Effectiveness 24 8.4 Utilization of Permanent Solutions and Altemative Treatment 25 (or Resource Recovery) Technologies to the Maximum Extent Amendment to 2003 ROD September 2010 OU6 Stray Horse Gulch, Califomia Gulch Superfund Site Practicable (MEP) 8.5 Preference for Treatment as a Principal Element 25 8.6 Five-Year Review Requirements 25 9.0 Public Participation and Historic Preservation 25 10.0 References Cited 26 11.0 Responsiveness Summary 27 List of Tables Table 1 Evaluation Criteria for Superfiind Remedial Altematives 19 Table 2.0 Chemical-Specific ARARs 43 Table 2.1 Location-Specific ARARs 45 Table 2.2 Action-Specific ARARs 50 Amendment to 2003 ROD September 2010 OU6 Stray Horse Gulch, Califomia Gulch Superfiind Site 1.0 Introduction The purpose of this Record of Decision (ROD) Amendment is to explain modifications to the remedy selected for Operable Unit 6 (OU6), Stray Horse Gulch ofthe Califomia Gulch Superfund Site (Site) in Lake County, Colorado in the September 25,2003 Record of Decision (2003 ROD) (USEPA 2003). This ROD Amendment affects a portion ofthe existing remedy addressing environmental contamination in the Stray Horse Gulch area of OU6. The lead agency for the Site is the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the support agency is the Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment (CDPHE or State). The lead agency is required to issue this ROD Amendment under CERCLA §117 and the National Contingency Plan (NCP) §300.435. This ROD Amendment and previously prepared Proposed Plan satisfy the public participation responsibilities under Section 117(c) ofthe Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, 42 U.S.C. Section 9601, et seq. (CERCLA, commonly known as "Superfund"), as amended by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 (SARA), and 40 C.F.R. Section 300.435(c)(2)(ii), which is part ofthe National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP).
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