Source: http://legalnewsline.com, June 16, 2016
By: Mark Iandolo
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that Cotter Corp. NSL will pay $957,604 in past costs to settle a case where the EPA looked into contamination at Cotter’s uranium mill at the Lincoln Park Superfund site near Cañon City, Colorado.
As part of the agreement, Cotter will pay for costs incurred between 2012 and 2014 so as to be in line with the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Recovery Act. All of the money that Cotter pays to the EPA will go into a special account. This account will be used to pay for any future costs at the site.
Cotter produced uranium oxide from 1958 to 2006 at this facility. During part of that time, Cotter allegedly let tailings and other mill wastes discharge into unlined impoundments or ponds, which led to environmental contamination. Cotter first began cleanup efforts at the site in 1988.
In 2014, Cotter reached an agreement with the EPA that allows Cotter to evaluate the site and determine the status of any contamination that may remain in soil or groundwater. Afterwards, the EPA will review the information and determine if any additional cleanup steps need to be taken before the site can be removed from the agency’s National Priorities List of contaminated sites.