Central City/Clear Creek

Clear Creek and Gilpin Counties, Col.	

Site Description

The 400-square-mile Central City/Clear Creek site spans Gilpin and Clear Creek counties, Col. EPA
added the site to the National Priorities List in 1983. The area around the town of Central City was
extensively mined for gold from 1859-1950. More than 30 abandoned mineshafts and many piles of
waste rock brought up from the mines remain. These features are contaminated with heavy metals,
such as lead, cadmium and manganese. The metals, which are poisonous to humans and animals,
are contained in acidic waters draining from the mine workings and waste rock piles. These waters
enter Clear Creek via groundwater flows and surface water runoff. The areas of contamination are
dispersed throughout the Clear Creek watershed. Over 500 thousand local residents depend on
Clear Creek as a source for drinking water, and thousands more utilize the area for recreation,
including fishing, swimming and rafting.

Current Site Status and Cleanup Actions to Date

•	EPA divided the site into multiple cleanup projects and has implemented cleanup actions at
three of these projects. The work completed so far has included the consolidation and
capping of mine waste piles, collection of acid mine drainage and water treatment.

•	In 2009, EPA funded additional cleanup actions with funds from the American Reinvestment
and Recovery Act to consolidate and cap additional mine waste piles, implement sediment
and drainage controls, and treat water to mitigate heavy metals impacts to Clear Creek.

•	Fiscal Year 2011 and early 2012 activities, which were also funded with Recovery Act
resources, included construction of a pipeline to capture and convey mine-contaminated
water from the National Tunnel, Gregory Incline and Gregory Gulch to the site of a planned
water treatment plant; site preparation for this same plant was also part of the funded
activities.

•	Once this project is funded and completed, all unacceptable human exposure pathways will
be eliminated for the entire site.

Unfunded Action

Fiscal Year 2012 work that was not funded included the construction of a water treatment plant to
treat the National Tunnel, Gregory Incline and Gregory Gulch discharges.

Current Funding Status

To date, the EPA has spent approximately $41 million on response activities at the site.

For more information on this site, please read the Central City/Clear Creek site information on

the Region 8 Superfund web site.


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