EPA announces partial deletion of Rocky Flats site from Superfund List

Denver -- The Environmental Protection Agency today announced the deletion of 25,413 acres of the Rocky Flats site in Jefferson and Boulder Counties, Colo., from the National Priorities List (NPL). This deletion reflects the completion of all response actions for the offsite and peripheral parcels and will allow the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to transfer part of the site to the U.S. Department of the Interior for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to manage as a National Wildlife Refuge.

Areas affected by the deletion include the 4,933-acre Peripheral Operable Unit and the 20,480-acre Operable Unit 3. The Peripheral Operable Unit (formerly known as the Buffer Zone) was part of the former DOE Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant. That parcel will be transferred from DOE to DOI to become the wildlife refuge. Operable Unit 3 (also known as the Offsite Areas) consists of open space, residential development and agricultural lands. A 1997 Record of Decision for Operable Unit 3 and a 2006 Record of Decision for the Peripheral Operable Unit determined that all appropriate response actions under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act have been implemented in these areas, and that no further response action by responsible parties is appropriate.

The State of Colorado, through the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, concurs with the deletion. DOE will be responsible for all future response actions required at the area deleted if future site conditions warrant such actions.