EPA Awards Partnership for Creating Wildlife Refuge From Former Nuclear Plant

EM was integral to a federal-state cleanup team honored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last week for revitalizing a former nuclear weapon production plant into a wildlife refuge that provides recreational opportunities and protects critical habitat.

The EPA bestowed its 2021 National Federal Facility Excellence in Site Reuse Award on EM, DOE’s Office of Legacy Management (LM) headquarters and Westminster, Colorado offices, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, and EPA, Region 8 for their work at Rocky Flats just outside of Denver.

“We’re particularly proud of the work at our Rocky Flats site, one of our largest and most successful cleanups, and now it’s a nature preserve visited by more than 50,000 people per year,” DOE Deputy Secretary David M. Turk said. “It’s a fitting testament to all who have worked at Rocky Flats over the many, many years of its history.”

Turk said EM and LM are at the heart of DOE’s efforts to make sure the Department’s programs help improve the environment.

“Secretary Granholm and I share the belief that these programs are morally the right thing to do in response to a legacy of radioactive and chemical contamination,” Turk said. “But this work is so much more important than just restoring our land. It’s about keeping our promises to the American people. We’re helping more families breathe clean air, drink clean water, and raise children in safe homes and safe communities.”

EM completed the accelerated cleanup and closure of Rocky Flats in 2005. The Cold War site was then transferred to LM, which is responsible for operating and maintaining groundwater collection and treatment systems, groundwater and surface water monitoring, routine inspection and maintenance, records-related activities, and stakeholder support.

The cleanup resulted in a DOE long-term stewardship site and the 5,200-acre federally protected Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge, restoring and preserving native ecosystems while providing habitat for migratory and resident wildlife and recreational opportunities for surrounding communities.

Mark Gilbertson, EM's associate principal deputy assistant secretary for regulatory and policy affairs, recalled how he helped assess environmental programs at Rocky Flats in 1989, and continued to support cleanup of the site throughout his management career.

“This is really special for me,” Gilbertson said. “It’s a nice sense of closure for me to see the site recognized by EPA for all the hard work that’s been done over the decades.”

Gilbertson emphasized that the successful cleanup and closure project would not have been possible without EM’s partners, including the community near Rocky Flats, EPA, state regulators, LM, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

“The Rocky Flats story gives us inspiration as we do our current and future work,” he said. “It started out with more than 800 structures, including about 150 permanent buildings and facilities. After tearing down those buildings and processing 100 tons of high-content plutonium residue waste, we shipped out enough radioactive waste to fill a string of rail cars 100 miles long.”

LM Deputy Director Peter O’Konski also noted the importance of partnerships in the Rocky Flats cleanup and closure.

“Because of the partnerships, because of the folks working together, Rocky Flats has been successful and continues to be successful,” he said. “I am particularly pleased to see that it is getting recognized because it was a hard lift. It was a hard lift for the Office of Environmental Management, and it continues to be a hard lift in the community to keep it relevant, to keep it focused, keep it moving forward.”

Speaking on behalf of LM Director Carmelo Melendez, O’Konski added: “Thank you all for recognizing this great achievement, and we look forward to Rocky Flats being part of the Denver community for years to come and for it to move on to its next chapter of its mission to the nation.”