Overland Park

Shattuck in the Wash Park Profile

From the October issue

Overland's Future Looks Bright With Shattuck Cloud Gone
by Paul Kashmann

How do you think you'd feel if: (a) You found out that there was a hazardous waste site - so polluted that it qualified for the federal government's Superfund cleanup program - located a few blocks from the front door of your family home, and (b) The federal government decided that rather than clean it up, it would be a great idea to mix tons of low-level radioactive waste with tons of concrete, and create a 6-acre monolith to sit in the midst of your neighborhood for the rest of time, and (c) No matter how much you argued, and no matter how persuasive the evidence that the plan was flawed, for the better part of a decade no one would listen, and the government charged with protecting your well-being refused to change its decision?

Then, how do you think you'd feel if: (a) Suddenly the universe shifted, and those who previously couldn't see the light were somehow illuminated, and (b) They decided that maybe they were wrong all along and it wouldn't be such a bad idea to dig up the 6-acre tomb and ship it all out of town, and (c) After about five years of crushing it up and shipping it out, rail-car by rail-car, the whole darn mess was gone, the land was clean and it was time to celebrate?

That, in a nutshell, describes the lives of the residents of the Overland Park neighborhood - located between Broadway and the Platte River, from Mississippi Ave. to the south city limits - for the past 15 years or so.

It was in 1991 that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) let it be known that there were problems all along the Platte River through south Denver, from years of heavy metals processing operations, and one particularly bad spot was the Shattuck Chemical Company site, at 1805 S. Bannock St. Shattuck processed various minerals and other materials, including radium, molybdenum and depleted uranium, from 1917 to 1984.

The EPA hosted a public meeting to tell the community about its plans to dig the polluted ground up and ship it out of town. Neighbors wanted guarantees that the shipments would be secure and radioactive dust would not be floating through their community while the removal operation was completed.

Then, in January 1992, without advance public notice, EPA dropped a bomb heard throughout the Overland community when it announced it had, indeed, reversed its decision and the pollution would be dealt with on-site. The contaminated soils would be mixed with cement and flyash to "chemically and mechanically prevent contamination of air and groundwater (that would) keep the contamination in place for 1,000 years."

A small but dedicated cadre of Overland residents began a David vs. Goliath struggle (financial giant Citigroup took ownership of the site in the midst of the fray) to keep their community from becoming America's first licensed, inner-city, radioactive hazardous- waste dump.

Untrained, but unflagging, the group spent endless hours uncovering evidence that - regardless of the protestations of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, and the EPA - burying the waste on-site would not be "protective of the public health and environment."

Lawsuits were filed, and in 1999 formal Senate hearings sponsored by U.S. Senator Wayne Allard, and conducted by EPA National Ombudsman Robert Martin and his associate Hugh Kaufman, took place in the unlikely confines of the Washington Street Community Center, 809 S. Washington St. Within months, the EPA determined there were "deficiencies in the cover design (of the Shattuck burial site) and the structural and chemical integrity of the structure" and the EPA could no longer "assure the long-term protectiveness of the remedy."

By June 2000, for the first time reversing its decision after a remediation had been completed, the EPA ordered removal of some 100,000 cubic yards of material and full cleanup of the site. Costs - which rose from initial estimates of $22 million to actual costs in the $60-million neighborhood - would be paid by the EPA (90 percent) and the State (10 percent). Meanwhile, Citigroup was able to negotiate a settlement amount of only $7.2 million in 2001, exempting it from further liability on the site.

The Overland neighbors, participating in a Shattuck Community Advisory Group, remained vigilant to see that the cleanup would be complete, and the cleanup process would not endanger the health of nearby neighbors and businesses.

Earlier this year, the Shattuck cleanup was completed. EPA spokesman Rob Henneke told The Profile that 2,252 rail cars had hauled some 243,893 tons of polluted soil and other materials to U.S. Ecology's licensed disposal site in Idaho. "We monitored the air on-site and at the fence throughout the operation, to protect both the workers and the community, and we had no exceedences of standards for exposure to particulates or radioactivity," said Henneke.

As it sits today, the Shattuck site has been given a clean bill of health, and the land is for sale.

On Sat., Nov. 4, 10a.m., neighbors and public officials will gather at the Shattuck site, to celebrate the completion of the cleanup operations. Senator Wayne Allard, Congresswoman Diana DeGette and a host of other politicos and neighborhood activists are expected to speak.
Overland Neighborhood Association president Jack Unruh is pleased with the results. "Amazingly, after all the ups and downs, they did a great job. It's a 5.9-acre landing strip. You could plant a corn maze. Completely blank. It's for sale, and we're hoping for good ownership and a fresh start."

While satisfied with the success of the cleanup operation, Unruh believes the costs extend past the financial impacts. "It made us a one-issue neighborhood for far too long," he stated. "It back-burnered a lot of things. How about paving the alleys, and that stuff?"

Catherine Sandy has lived about two blocks from the Shattuck site for two decades. "I've spent 17 years on Shattuck, and I'm glad it's over," Sandy stated. "There's a sense of pride that we accomplished something there that's never been done before."

Sandy would love to see the renewed 6-acre parcel become "something like they did at 3rd and Broadway - lofts - we need more housing. We'll rail against any more industry. We don't need any more trucks."

The public is welcome to attend the Shattuck celebration. For information, call 303-312-6734.