California Gulch Superfund Site, Leadville, CO
Superfund NPL
Superfund NPL
IMAGE GALLERY
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Mineral Belt Trail
Cleanup Objectives: Address metals-contaminated soil at a former mining site
Green Remediation Strategy: Constructed a recreational trail serving as a cap for contaminated soil
- Conducted a risk-based assessment to confirm trail interception of exposure pathways for waste left in place
- Demonstrated the trail would not harm adjacent wetlands and streams
- Completed a cultural resource inventory and mitigation plan to meet historic preservation requirements
- Consolidated slag-contaminated soil into a platform running along the site's former rail and haul-road corridor
- Covered the soil platform with a six-inch layer of gravel spanning a width of 12 feet with additional three-foot shoulders
- Installed six inches of asphalt above the gravel layer
Results:
- Avoided invasive soil excavation and costly offsite disposal
- Reduced consumption and cost of imported construction material through use of contained waste-in-place
- Increased user safety and remedy integrity through trail restriction to non-motorized use
- Relied on an integrated remediation and reuse plan involving extensive community input, donation of land and construction material by the property owner, and long-term trail and remedy maintenance by Lake County, CO
- Avoided mobile source air emissions associated with off-site disposal of contaminated soil
Property End Use: Recreation
Point of Contact: Rebecca Thomas, U.S. EPA Region 8
Update: June 2008
