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~ ~ III IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII <br />~,,,fasrrFv <br />7, UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY <br />W REGION 8 <br />i~ ~ 999 18TM STREET -SUITE 500 <br />DENVER, CO 80202-2466 <br />F~ov-ti: E('~ <br />j n : ~vK G- <br />November 2, 1998 <br />RECElVEQ <br />Ref: EPR-SR <br />Kathleen Reilly, Rio Grande River Basin Watershed Coordinator <br />CDPHE Water Quality Control Division (WQCD-OA-B2) <br />4300 Cherry Creek Drive South <br />Denver, CG 80246 <br />nn~. >/~.,~~ <br />Subj:ICreede Mining District and Willow Creek Drainage <br />Dear Kathleen: <br />NOV U 3 1998 <br />Oiviyon o! Minerals & Geology <br />In 1987 the Colorado Division of Wildlife conducted a standardized stream <br />survey (Lehnertz, 1989) on Willow Creek concluding that elevated levels of cadmium <br />and zinc in lower Willow Creek has caused lethal results to the fishery, along with <br />destruction of the riparian/wetland buffer zone. In 1990 the CDPHE Water Quality <br />Control Division conducted sampling of high- and low-flow in stream metals <br />concentrations noting up to 100-fold exceedances of Table Value Standards for silver, <br />cadmium, copper, iron, manganese, lead and zinc (Willow Creek Nonpoint Source <br />Study, 1991). Under the auspices of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency <br />Region VIII Superfund Site Assessment Program, studies were conducted in 1995 by <br />the Hazardous Materials and Waste Management Division of the Colorado Department <br />of Public Health and the Environment (CDPHE-HMWMD). The resulting report "Site <br />Inspection -Comprehensive Analytical Results Report, East and West willow Creek, <br />Mineral County, Colorado" (CDPHE, 1997) further documents elevated <br />concentrations of toxic metals emanating from sources associated with the Creede <br />mining district with releases into the gold-medal fishery of the Upper Rio Grande <br />River. - <br />Site prioritization and response planning between the EPA Region VIII <br />Superfund Remedial Program (8EPA-SR) and CDPHE-HMWMD has resulted in <br />increased attention for this site through the CERCLA-Superfund program, including <br />continuing consideration of possible need for NPL-listing. In September 1997, 8EPA <br />~Pnnfetl on RecyUeC Paper <br />