SEPA United States Environmental Protection Agency Office of Emergency and Remedial Response (5201 G) July 2000 Pilots Superfund Redevelopment California Gulch (Robert Emmet Mine) Board of Lake County Commissioners, CO EPA's Superfund Redevelopment Initiative (SRI) is a nationally coordinated effort to facilitate the return of Superfund sites to productive use by selecting response actions consistent with anticipated use. The SRI Pilots are intended to help local governments enhance their involvement in the Superfund decision-making process by assisting EPA in predicting future land uses for Superfund sites. Under the Pilot Program, EPA will provide up to $100,000 in financial assistance and/or services to local governments for specified activities. Applicants are offered several types of program assistance, including funding through a cooperative agreement, access to facilitation services, and/or the availability of personnel under the Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA). BACKGROUND EPA selected the Board of Lake County Commissioners in Lake County, Colorado, for a Superfund Redevelopment Pilot. Lake County is home to the California Gulch Superfund site. The Robert Emmet Mine area, part of the California Gulch site, comprises 58 acres of patented mining claims near Leadville, Colorado. It last operated in the early 1950s. Using all forms of mining techniques, miners searched forgold, silver, copper, zinc, manganese, and lead. They developed an extensive system of underground mines, including the 800-foot-deep Robert Emmet mineshaft, to allow access to the mineral lode in the district. Years of mining took a toll on the environment, and spread contaminated tailings and waste rock throughout the region.To alleviate flooding in the underground mines, the U.S. Bureau of Mines constructed a two-mile tunnel, the Leadville Mine Drainage Tunnel, during the 1940s. In September 1983, EPA added the California Gulch site to its list of hazardous waste sites needing cleanup. OBJECTIVES The City of Leadville and Lake County are making a transition from an economy based predominantly on heavy metal mining to one based on tourism and recreation. Redeveloping the Robert Emmet Mine area will help the city and county achieve this economic transition. The Board of Lake County Commissioners will use Pilot funds to develop a reuse plan to convert the Robert Emmet mineshaft into a tourist mine and museum where visitors to the Historic Leadville Mining District may experience what it was like to be in an underground hard-rock mine. PILOT SNAPSHOT California Gulch (Robert Emmet Mine) Denver Applicant Name: Board of Lake County Commissioners, CO Site Name: California Gulch (Robert Emmet Mine) Date of Selection: July 2000 Anticipated Award: Cooperative Agreement ($100,000) Profile: The city will create a plan for reusing the Robert Emmet mineshaft as a tourist mine and museum. Contacts: Victor Ketellapper U.S. EPA Region 8 (303) 312-6578 ketellapper.victor@epa.gov Superfund Hotline: (800) 424-9346 or (703) 412-9810 (DC Metro Area) reuse.info@epa.gov Visit the EPA Superfund Redevelopment Web site http://www.epa.gov/superfund/programs/recycle/pilot.htm ------- |