Agencies delay OU5 field work at Central City–Clear Creek site; first remedial actions now targeted for spring 2026

Officials from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said they will not begin field work this year on Operable Unit 5 — the area of the Central City–Clear Creek Superfund site focused on residential mine waste — and are now targeting initial remedial actions in spring 2026.

"We don't believe that field work is gonna be possible for this season," said Kyle Sandor, project manager for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment on the Central City–Clear Creek site. Sandor told stakeholders the remedial investigation (RI), the human health risk assessment (HHRA) and the feasibility study (FS) required additional technical and management review, which prompted substantial rewrites of the FS and moderate changes to the RI and HHRA.

The agencies said the next formal steps are finalizing the RI/FS documents, issuing a proposed plan for public comment and completing an interim record of decision (IROD) to authorize early cleanup work. "The proposed plan is where we highlight all the cleanup alternatives...and then once the proposed plan has been issued for public comment we are then able to move forward with the record of decision," Sandor said.

Sandor said the site has settlement money available from a previous national settlement tied to a potential responsible party. "As a part of that national settlement...our site received approximately $30,000,000 for different site activities," he said, adding that the agencies expect the OU5 work to use the majority of those settlement dollars and that additional federal Superfund funding would be needed to finish the project.

Angela Fowler, EPA project manager for the Central City–Clear Creek site, confirmed the site team has not been notified of staff reductions at EPA Region 8 and that agency staff are proceeding with planning. Sandord and Fowler said the schedule to begin actions in 2026 is contingent on the final RI/FS deliverables.

Stakeholders pressed agencies for detail about scope and pace. Sand (a Gilpin County commissioner) and other local officials urged faster progress; Sandor said the project team is constrained by required technical steps. Sandor noted the complexity of the watershed and sampling gaps: initial sampling characterized a little more than 90 waste piles, while the project's consultant identified roughly 500 potential locations across the watershed, meaning work to locate and characterize additional piles could extend the timeline.

The site team also said they are evaluating waste management capacity. Sandor said the site currently uses a single repository that has nearly reached capacity; the planned cleanup work includes options to expand that repository and potentially develop a second repository site.

Officials invited stakeholders to ask follow-up questions, seek one-on-one meetings and flagged a standing semiannual meeting scheduled for the fourth Monday in August. They said they will provide updated public outreach and reestablish meetings once the RI/FS reports approach finalization.