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<br />VOLUME I, NO, 8
<br />
<br />WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 6, 1986
<br />
<br />I'flb"".t48,flleTilllnI'Yblishinleo.
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<br />EVIEW
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<br />Storn,j ..',"POU rs"?QveJ:firFls ite:~t'oC reek
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<br />
<br />By MICHAEL KERRIGAN: '
<br />", Times Staff Writer \
<br />Nature's assault of hail on the Front
<br />Range Saturday stretched almost to
<br />Last Chance, causing riverS of water
<br />and ice to, pour off a proposed toxic
<br />waste,dump site and flow w1hindered
<br />into Beavel'Creek 1 ~ miles away, '
<br />, ,In 90 minutes, an estimated six inches
<br />of rain 'and two'f""t of hail rolled down
<br />'from;"the';,320-acre ,site targeted by
<br />Bro~:F~lTis' Industries '. for", toXic ..
<br />wiist~'sto;'age si~nilles w';'t ~f the
<br />community. ," , . ,
<br />. In surroundi!1g areas, ram ac-
<br />cumulations ranged from only a trace"
<br />to 2% inches, according to residents,
<br />But it was the weather concentrated
<br />near the dump site itself that has ad-
<br />joinlng'property owners concerned that
<br />active burial, pits harboring spent toxic
<br />residues ,co~d easily, end ". up 'in the
<br />region's water supply, given a_ repeafof
<br />. "theweekend,weathe.-,:,;,', " .' ,.,;:, ;r~l'.."';',;~':,
<br />Bob Gilbert, a Washingion'cOiJ!iiy
<br />fanner whose property borderS :that
<br />owned by the Houston-based 'wasle
<br />disposal company, called the 2~ inChes
<br />of rain that accumulated in hi(gaiige
<br />, during the storm nothing out ;oHthe
<br />ordinary.... . I >;~ ,.'~!~~~ .
<br />HIt was a good rain, but welve,'gott~n
<br />that four, or five times in the last',tWo
<br />'weekS," Gilbert said, adding 'higher
<br />: concentrations: ,of - rain' near. J.h~~~~le
<br />, .. caused ed' the, read' I' damage to ,~~m
<br />teITac groun, , , '
<br />He estimated 3,000 acres owned by
<br />the company could provide runoff onto
<br />his property and down to Beaver Creek,
<br />Three established ravines leading off
<br />the.' BFI " property, accompanied by,
<br />stOr#I-cr~ted nine-inch gullies, cut
<br />directly ,through Gilbert's section of
<br />,land and .fUnneled the rolling mud and
<br />,water dii'ectly to Beaver Creek, 'C':~,:'
<br />, The '::creek }is:the,~, most, 'visible
<br />reminder/,of'::the,':;aquifer ': running:
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<br />directly below the stream, which feeds
<br />"more than, 400 state-registered water
<br />wells, '
<br />, Concerned Citizens of. Eastern
<br />cOlorado CCCEC) and other opponents
<br />to construction of the dump have long
<br />,feared that chemicals migrating from
<br />it, could leach through porous rock
<br />,'" linderneath ,the 'site ,and eventually..
<br />>,enter, the'grillindwatersource:':,!:, '.' ,",'
<br />: """, Satin-dily "'afternoon's"storm, has"
<br />,li:e~ghte.'lec:l:,,,oncern.s \h"!L water" in-
<br />i'troduced to the site through rain could
<br />flood open burial pits still receiving
<br />wastes and force it down natural draws'
<br />and into Beaver Creek. ' _
<br />. "Any storm water that gets into a
<br />, secure cell when it is active will be'
<br />handIed properly," said Guss Cum-
<br />mings, project manager with Chemical
<br />and Environmental Conservation'
<br />, Systems (CCEC>, a I;lFI subsidiary"
<br />" He said it;vould be "rather difficulf'
<br />for even a heavy concentration ofwatcr
<br />to force stored, solidified chemicals out
<br />of the holding areas, " ,
<br />': '.'We're confident we've deVIsed a
<br />plan to handle excess storm water,"
<br />Cummings said, adding water falh!'g
<br />on the 320 acres hosting the burial pits
<br />would be retained oJ):,site, ,,' ' , '
<br />The design of the holding cells, which
<br />will measure approximately 300 by 100
<br />feet and 30 feei deep, calls for a' pum,
<br />ping system to drain and expel any
<br />water from the clay and plastic-lined
<br />pits: Thepiis ,vii] be covered only afier,
<br />they rre filled with wastes, , '
<br />,We den expressea concerns iliat riof
<br />only the volume of water produced
<br />from frequently occurring storms but
<br />, the amount of vegetation damaged and
<br />carried aiong with its flow could clog'
<br />the pumps and render them useless.
<br />"TheJ'roblem with a half-filled pit is :
<br />it woul flood and wash down to the
<br />Bea-ver; there's. no stoppi~g .i~,'/.,
<br />Whelden said. ~"
<br />
<br />" Northwest of the propOsed bUrial site
<br />'was most heavily damage<l by h~,iI an~
<br />water. .. ,'. . . '"
<br />, "It looked like a glacier mOVing,
<br />said Gerald Whelden, who along with
<br />his wife, Thelma. have lived near the
<br />foot of the hill below the proposed site.
<br />since before the 1935 flood, that also
<br />inunda led the area, , "
<br />By 5'30 Saturday Ii chest-high wall of
<br />ice and straw had moved down the hill
<br />and into the couple's yard, Almost 48
<br />hours later. l'h-inch-diameter hail
<br />could be \?ulled from the still (our-{oot-
<br />high flow, The accumulation flooded
<br />their basement and left two-feet, of
<br />water standing on about one acre of
<br />,-"groUnd,
<br />The hail killed foUI' cows and a calf;
<br />the accompanying rush, of water '
<br />. ~ carried. one of the 'carcasses along
<br />"toward the Beaver 10 miles away, Pam
<br />, ,Whelden said, '
<br />1'."";' .
<br />. Earthen dams in the area' were
<br />' ovelTun with mud and flushed of their
<br />',water, Pam Whelden said they would
<br />. have to be cleared by heavy equipment
<br />if they were ever to be used again, That
<br />reffort would mark the second time in as
<br />. ,inany years the water storage areas
<br />"'were cleared of storm refuse ana soil. ,
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<br />The 1985 storm was preceded by
<br />floods in 1981, 1978 and 1976, Whelden
<br />explained, adding the amount of storm
<br />,activity near the proposed BF! site is
<br />,'predictable in its regularity but can
<br />happen at any time, ,'"
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