Platte Valley Open Space

A Capstone Project for ENVS 450Environmental Impact Assessment

Presentation Outline

• Introduction and goals• Background story of Globeville and ASARCO• NEPA and Globeville• Introduction to the Environmental Assessment• Plan synopsis and potential alternatives• Environmental impacts• Conclusions and the future

Our Goals

• Introduce students to writing an EA/EIS• Become familiar with the NEPA process• Gain experience with environmental

report writing

Community Based Learning

• Service and justice in the classroom

• Community partners • Real world experience

Regis University Mission

• Learners becoming leaders• “How ought we to live”• Jesuit ideals: Men and Women in

Service to Others

EIA as a Capstone

• Capstone Class• Culmination of past education• Future Career Path

Platte Valley Open Space

• Project: Writing PVOS EA• Combined community based

learning goals and professional goals as ENVS students

• Career preparation for graduates

Globeville History• The American Smelting and

Refining Company (ASARCO) Corporation opened its doors in the late 1800’s.

• ASARCO was a smelting plant that melted metal like arsenic, cadmium, copper, lead and zinc.

nebraska.sierraclub.org

What is a Smelting Plant?

• How it works

• Smoke Stack Issues

Pro’s and Con’s

• Pro: Employment

• Con: Pollution

ASARCO Contaminants

• Lead

• Zinc

• Arsenic

• Cadmium

ASARCO Pollution EffectsASARCO Pollution Effects

• Being exposed the metallic fumes can cause a number of health issues.

www.kelation-therapy.com

Employees and Residents

• Past

• Present

Environmental Justice

• This applies to Globeville because:

– consisting mainly of minorities

– 1.3% vs. 5.1%

– 22.7%

(Globeville neighborhood, 2010).

ASARCO Lawsuit

• In recent years residents began to wonder how safe their land was

www.umich.edu

What is NEPA

• 1960’s “rise of environmental consciousness” from environmental works such as Rachel

Carson’s book “Silent Spring”• National Environmental Policy Act- enacted in

1969• “world’s first policy that protects the human

environment for future generations” (Eccelston, 2001)

NEPA

• NEPA has two titles– Title I- sets up procedural requirements that need

to be followed when implementing a federal action

– Title II- Creates the Council on Environmental Quality

• CEQ oversees NEPA

Flow Chart of the NEPA Process

Some Examples:

•Soil•Native vegetation

•Socioeconomic factors •Surface and ground water

•Aesthetics•Air quality

•Impact on surrounding areas•Wildlife

What Does NEPA Protect/ Consider?

Environmental Assessment (EA) vs. Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)

• What is an EA?– Used to analyze the environmental impacts of

proposed federal actions.• What is an EIS?

– More extensive than an EA

CDPHE v. ASARCO

CDPHE: Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment

CERCLA: Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act

The NPL: National Priorities List

• ASARCO settles– Then goes bankrupt

• Why the site is stuck

Timeline of the Globeville Site Relating to the ASARCO Contamination

• 1987- CDPHE and ASARCO made an agreement in to determine the extent of the sites contamination

• May 1993- EPA proposed the Globeville site for the NPL( National Priorities Lists)

• July 1993 ASARCO settle with CDPHE to pay for site, they agreeded to pay for sites cleanup with the oversight of CDPHE

• 2002- Residential cleanup completed

Where are we Now?

• The Globeville community taken site into their own hands.

• With the help of Groundwork Denver the community is working to change the Oletski Valley into open space.

• Our class wrote an EA in order to assess the proposed actions to the Globeville site. We believe these actions will result in a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI)

PVOS Environmental Assessment

Table of Contents

1.0 Purpose and need for proposed action1.1 Structures 1.2 Road closing1.3 Tunnel1.4 Native vegetation1.5 Trails and hardscape1.6 Soils and community garden 1.7 Trash removal

2.0 Description of effected environment, alternatives, and scoping of issues

2.1 Social/Culture History2.1.1 Present ownership2.1.2 Environmental justice issues2.2 Physical Description

2.2.1 Natural History2.2.2 Hydrology2.2.3 Geology2.2.4 Current wildlife use and potential

habitat 2.2.5 Current structures

3.0 Analysis of environmental impacts of the proposed action and reasonable alternatives

3.1 Structures3.2 Road closing3.3Tunnel3.4 Native vegetation3.5 Trails and hardscape3.6 Soils and community garden3.7 Trash removal

4.0 Applicable environmental permits and regulatory requirements that would need to be obtained

4.1 Structures 4.2 Road closing4.3 Tunnel4.4 Native vegetation4.5 Trails and hardscape4.6 Soils and community garden4.7Trash removal

5.0 List of agencies and persons consulted 6.0 References

Current physical description • PVOS is an open field with houses at the very

end with some vegetation and power poles through out the site.

• Surrounded by graffiti on fences and poles.

Hydrology

• The area floods often, and there is a small patch on the south side that tends to collect pools of water.

Surroundings

• The train tracks, residential housing, and industrial buildings border PVOS.

• Part of the site is scattered with trash, and residents were not seen using the area.

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View and Noise

• The site overlooks the Denver skyline, and the Rocky mountains.

• The low noise level potentially creates a pleasant environment, with some clean up efforts.

Plan Synopsis

• Structures• Road closure

Plan Synopsis• Planting native

vegetation• Path or pedestrian

tunnel for safe railroad crossing

Plan Synopsis

• Trails and hardscape• Trash removal and

disposal

Trail through Stapleton brownfield

Plan Synopsis

• No Action– Community Garden– Park

Potential Alternatives• Structures• Road

Potential Alternatives• Leave present vegetation

– Cheatgrass, Bromus tectorum– Kochia scoparia (Federal and

State noxious weed list)

• No rail crossing

Potential Alternatives

• Trails and hardscape• Trash removal

Environmental Impacts

• Structures– Overpass/Tunnel– Trails/Hardscapes

• Road closing • Native Vegetation • Trash Removal

No action – Action Impacts

• Definition No action– Road closure – Planting Native veg.– Trash removal

• Definition Action – Structures

• RR crossing • Trials and Hardscape

Road Closure

Native Vegetation

Trash Removal

Action - Impacts

• Structures– Overpass/Tunnel– Trails/Hardscapes

Overpass/Tunnel

Trails/Hardscapes

Outcomes from Environmental Assessment

• As a class we have learned some of the advantages and restraints of preparing an Environmental Assessment.

• Comprehensive documentations of the Platte Valley Open Space, and some proposed actions for the remediated area.

• Knowledge regarding the current state of the Globeville neighborhood, and its long deep-rooted history.

Conclusions and Suggestions

• Proposals that benefit the community such as walking paths, corridor between parks, trash clean-up, raised bed gardens, and others.

• All proposals are done with the local community in mind.

What’s Next for the PVOS

• We hope to see the open space utilized in some fashion that benefits the local community.

• Some community members put in large amounts of time and effort to fight the case against ASARCO, and the open space should be one of the many rewards of success.

Acknowledgments

• We at Regis University, and especially the Environmental Impact Assessment class would like to thank all those who assisted us with your time and effort.

• Oletski Family, Jessica Campbell, Margaret Escamilla, Aaron Sidder, Groundwork Denver, and Regis College Community Based Learning