The U.S. Army recently completed its Five-Year Review (FYR) report for the Rocky Mountain Arsenal (Arsenal). This report evaluates whether the remedies prescribed in the 1995 and 1996 On-Post and Off-Post Records of Decisions are continuing to provide protection to human health and the environment. The RODs provide detailed descriptions of the cleanup approach selected for the site. Both documents were signed by the Army, the State of Colorado and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and are supported by Shell Oil Company (Shell) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The purpose of the FYR is to determine whether the Arsenal’s cleanup remedy continues to be protective of public health and the environment and whether it can be expected to remain protective after completion. A critical part of the FYR is to update any changes to standards and to determine if the remedy outlined in the RODs and subsequent Decision Documents remains protective in light of these new standards. EPA has determined that the remedy remains protective of human health and the environment based on a review of documentation, site inspections and interviews for this Five Year Review cycle.
Beginning Oct. 24, the report has been made available at the Arsenal’s Joint Administrative Records and Document Facility located at the Arsenal in Building 129, at the EPA’s Record Center in Denver, and the Commerce City Library. The report is also posted on the Arsenal’s website at www.rma.army.mil, click on the Five-Year Review link.
FYRs at the Arsenal will be required for the foreseeable future since the cleanup approach required landfills and consolidation areas to hold contaminated waste from the Arsenal’s cleanup. This FYR covers the period of 2005-2010. The next FYR is scheduled for 2015.
The U.S. Army created the Arsenal in 1942 to produce chemical weapons as a deterrent in World War II. Shell later leased some of those facilities to manufacture agricultural products. Disposal practices resulted in contamination of the site’s soil, structures and groundwater. Contaminants include pesticides, solvents, metals and miscellaneous industrial chemicals.
For more information, please contact Ms. Peggy Machamer at 303-289-0300 or at pao@rma.army.mil
• Joint Administrative Records and Document Facility:
Rocky Mountain Arsenal, 6550 Gateway Road, Commerce City, CO 80022
• EPA Records Center: 1595 Wynkoop, Denver, CO 80202
• Anythink Commerce City Library: 7185 Monaco Street, Commerce City, CO 80022
