Status Update
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Captain Jack Mill
ISSi
Colorado Department
Superfund Site
of Public Health

and Environment
January 2013

Surface Remedy Completed
In November 2012, CDPHE and EPA completed constmction of the surface remedy at the
Captain Jack Mill Superfund Site. The remedy consisted of consolidating mine waste mate-
rials from various areas of the site into two consolidation cells. One cell is located at the
former Capt Jack Mill area and the other is the Big Five Waste Rock Pile. A vegetated soil
cover system with surface water diversion structures was established over both consolida-
tion cells to prevent human contact with contaminated materials and to minimize rain and
snow melt from coming into contact with waste materials, preventing metals leaching into
surface water. Areas from which contaminated materials were excavated were seeded with
alpine prairie grasses. Buildings associated with the previous Capt Jack Mill operations
were demolished during construction of the consolidation cell. Because contaminated mate-
rials were left in place, the remedy will be re-evaluated every five years to ensure it remains
protective of human health and the environment.

Old Mil Buildings Before Demolition	Mill Area Consolidation Cell
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Subsurface Remedy in Design
The design of the subsurface remedy is underway. This remedy will address the acidic metal-
laden water discharging from the Big Five tunnel. The remedy will include the following key
components:
•	A flow-through concrete plug
•	Crushed limestone rock placed behind the plug
•	A recirculation system to extract water from behind the plug and re-inject further up-
stream
•	A long-term monitoring system
Installing a plug in the Big Five tunnel will contain the water within the mine workings. Chemi-
cals will be added to treat the mine pool. Caustic chemicals will neutralize the acidity in the wa-
ter, and prevent metals from leaching out of the mineralized rocks.
The long-term monitoring system will monitor the mine pool and surrounding groundwater sys-
tems. This will allow the agencies to assess the effectiveness of the remedy, determine if there
is the need for additional treatment, and ensure that nearby ground and surface water is not
negatively impacted.
The goals of the remedy are to:
•	Eliminate or reduce the acidic discharge so that surface water in Lefthand Creek is pro-
tected
•	Minimize long-term operations and maintenance to the extent practicable
•	Ensure flexibility in the design to modify the treatment components if necessary
•	Protect nearby groundwater resources
The design is expected to be completed in spring 2013. Implementation of the remedy will de-
pend on funding.
Big Five Tunnel and boarding house	Discharging water from the Big Five Tunnel
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MEET THE TEAM
There has been one staff change on this project since April 2012, and we'd like to introduce our
current team:
Mary Board man, CDPHE Project Manager: Mary has lived in Colo-
rado since she was three years old. She obtained her BA in Chemistry and
an MS in Environmental Science from the University of Colorado. She
began working for CDPHE in 1994. Mary has worked on several key en-
vironmental projects in the state, including the French Gulch site in
Breckenridge, the Summitville Mine Superfund Site near South Fork, and
the Central City/Clear Creek Superfund Site in Clear Creek and Gilpin counties.
Warren Smith, CDPHE Community Involvement Manager: Warren Smith
joined the Hazardous Materials and Waste Management Division of the Colo-
rado Department of Public Health and Environment in December 2006. He man-
ages a three-person staff responsible for public participation and media relations.
Previously, he was the director of news and public affairs for the University of
Denver. Smith has more than 30 years of experience as a journalist, public/
community relations counselor, marketing communicator, video producer and radio announcer,
l ie holds a bachelors degree in magazine journalism and creative writing from Drake University
and a graduate certificate in integrated marketing communications from the University of Den-
ver. He is Accredited in Public Relations by the Public Relations Society of America.
Joy Jenkins, EPA Project Manager: Prior to joining EPA as a remedial pro-
ject manager (RPM), Dr. Jenkins was involved with various aspects of mine
water treatment design and optimization projects as a consulting environ-
mental engineer. She has a Ph.D. from the University of Colorado Boulder in
environmental engineering, focusing on research in bioremediation and source
control of contaminated mine waters. Prior to her graduate studies, she was an
analytical chemist determining the environmental fate of chemicals from
manufacture goods.
John Dalton, EPA Community Involvement Coordinator: John Dal ton has
worked in EPA's Public Affairs and Involvement office since 2003. John at-
tended the University of Colorado/Boulder and is a former reporter, editor and
managing editor at newspapers and magazines in Denver, Colorado Springs and
Pueblo. He has worked on Superfund sites throughout EPA's six-state Region 8
I area and on federal facilities in North Dakota, Wyoming, Utah and Colorado.
Dalton is qualified as a Public Information Officer in EPA's Incident Command
System emergency response unit.
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HISTORICAL RESOURCES
As part of the Remedial Investigation/Feasibility
Study (RJ7FS) and design, an investigation of cul-
tural resources was conducted to ensure appropriate
preservation was considered during construction. In
addition to the official inventory, local citizens and
interest groups were asked for input on features they
consider important.
Two features were identified:
•	the boarding house and
•	the stacked wall near the Big Five waste pile.
The agencies have no plans to disturb the boarding house. Impacts to the stacked wall were
minimized.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:

CDPHE
EPA
Mary Roardman. State Project Manager
Joy Jenkins, EPA Project Manager
303-692-3413
303-312-6873
mary ,boardman@state. co. us
j enkins j oy@epa.gov
Warren Smith, State Community
John Dalton, EPA Community Involvement
Involvement Manager
Coordinator
303-692-3373
303-312-6633
warren. smith (/stale. co .us
dalton .j ohn@epa.gov
www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite/CDPHE-HM/
www.epa.gov/region8/superfiind/co/captainjack/
CBON/1251615994883

Documents related to the Captain Jack

Mill Superfund Site cleanup are located at:
CDPHE Records Center
Ward Public Library
Post Office/Town Hall Building
Ward, CO 80481
4300 Cherry Creek Drive, South
Denver, CO 80246
303-692-3331; toll-free 1-888-569-1831, x3331
Boulder Public Library
1000 Canyon Blvd.
Boulder, CO 80481
EPA Records Center
1595 Wynkoop Street
Denver, CO 80202
303-312-6473; toll-free 1-800-227-8917
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