The Montezuma County landfill has taken a proactive measure to help save taxpayers any unnecessary expense when disposing of nonhazardous waste from the Red Arrow mill in Mancos.<\/p>\n
Landfill manager Deb Barton recently requested clarification from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency about accepting any non-hazardous waste from the federal Superfund site. Acting as a concerned citizen, Barton said she sought the clarification in order to help lower waste disposal transportation costs associated with the cleanup effort.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy pay an extra 50, 60 or 70 miles of transportation when we\u2019re basically 20 miles from Mancos?\u201d she asked. \u201cIf this will reduce the cost to taxpayers, isn\u2019t that my responsibility as a citizen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe EPA is going to tear down everything at the mill, and they would like to keep any non-hazardous material as close as possible,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
After an environmental investigation by state authorities, the EPA issued a temporary 60-day permit for the landfill on Feb. 28. Barton said state and federal laws prohibit the landfill from accepting anything but non-hazardous and non-liquid waste only.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been certified to meet EPA standards,\u201d said Barton. \u201cDoes that mean they can bring the material to me willy-nilly? No. They have to prove that it is non-hazardous.\u201d<\/p>\n
Barton said a certified EPA lab report stating the waste was not hazardous would have to be produced before receiving any non-hazardous waste from Red Arrow. Any mercury tainted waste from the milling site must be less than 0.2 parts per million, and any lead or arsenic polluted material must be less than 5 parts per million, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe EPA will test everything that comes out of the milling site, because they don\u2019t want another Superfund site along the way,\u201d Barton said. \u201cThe EPA would not allow any waste to come that doesn\u2019t meet their standards, so I\u2019m not going to screw the pooch either.\u201d<\/p>\n
Because of the EPA lab results, Barton said she remained confident that no hazardous material would ever enter the local landfill. She added that nearby archeological sites, ranchers and ordinary citizens also have nothing to fear.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the waste doesn\u2019t have that EPA lab report, then it will be going someplace else,\u201d Barton said. \u201cI\u2019m not going to take any hazardous material.\u201d<\/p>\n
Located on Grand Avenue just outside of Mancos, the Red Arrow milling site was ordered closed by the Colorado Department of Reclamation and Mining Safety in June. DRMS officials also closed the Red Arrow gold mine some nine miles northeast of Mancos. Owner Craig Luikko was subsequently fined $335,000 for six violations, including operating a mine without a permit.<\/p>\n
At this time, however, the entire waste disposal issue is moot, because all cleanup efforts at the milling site are stalled because of pending bankruptcy proceedings in Texas. Red Arrow is embroiled in a complicated bankruptcy case with partner company American Patriot Gold and a New York hedge fund, Maximilian Investors.<\/p>\n
EPA on-scene coordinator Craig Myers said no final decision has been made about disposing of Red Arrow waste. Instead of a landfill, the polluted material could potentially be returned to the Red Arrow mine site, he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would like to point out that waste will not be stored anywhere,\u201d Myers said. \u201cIf sent to a landfill, the waste would be permanently disposed of. If sent to the mine, the waste would be placed into a permanent tailings repository and capped.\u201d<\/p>\n
Myers said any material that neither failed hazardous waste test nor was otherwise hazardous waste by definition would be disposed of at a Subtitle D non-hazardous waste landfill, like the Montezuma County landfill.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis would likely include contaminated wood and other porous materials from the milling operation, as well as ancillary solid waste from the cleanup,\u201d Myers said.<\/p>\n
Hazardous waste from Red Arrow would be sent to an appropriate Subtitle C facility, the closest of which are in Santa Fe, New Mexico; Grassy Mountain, Utah; or Deer Trail, Colo., Myers said.<\/p>\n
Last week, Montezuma County Commissioner Keenan Ertel said that Luikko maintains he was not responsible for any environmental pollution. Luikko wrote a \u201cconvincing\u201d argument in a recent rebuttal email that initial mine investors set Red Arrow up in a \u201cloan to own scam,\u201d which led to the contamination, Ertel added.<\/p>\n
\u201c(Luikko) said the investors set him up to fail,\u201d Ertel said.<\/p>\n
Ertel declined to share Luikko\u2019s email with The Cortez Journal.<\/p>\n
An EPA assessment of the Red Arrow milling site in December revealed that nearly a quarter of soil samples exceeded arsenic levels and three soil samples had above average or exceeded mercury levels.<\/p>\n
The state\u2019s Mined Land Reclamation Board has subsequently conducted multiple hearings. Liukko has failed to attend any of those proceedings.<\/p>\n
DRMS officials maintain the milling site does not pose any public health risks.<\/p>\n