THE BEND - In-depth stories before Mondays study session and an encampment cleanup
Toxic Legacy: Uncovering the Chemical Contamination at the Denver Federal Center – Part 1: Beneath the Surface of War, Waste, and What Remains
By Karen Gordey
Tucked between Lakewood’s bustling shopping centers and its picturesque parks lies the Denver Federal Center (DFC), a 670-acre campus home to over 25 federal agencies. To most passersby, it’s a secure and efficient government hub. But beneath its streets, buildings, and manicured lawns lies a chemical past that many residents have never been told.
What Is a Superfund Site?
A Superfund site is a polluted location in the United States that requires a long-term response to clean up hazardous material contaminations. These sites are designated under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), a federal law enacted in 1980. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is responsible for identifying these sites and overseeing cleanup efforts to protect public health and the environment. The designation of a Superfund site is reserved for the most severely contaminated properties
The DFC earned its Superfund designation in the 1980s due to decades of industrial and military use that left behind a toxic stew of solvents, petroleum products, heavy metals, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). These contaminants infiltrated the soil and groundwater, some migrating offsite and threatening surrounding communities.
What is a Brownfield Site?
Brownfield sites are often used for urban renewal projects around the country. The Denver Federal Center is NOT a brownfield site. A brownfield site are often industrial or commercial properties (for example, gas stations, dry cleaners, warehouses) where low to moderate contamination from a hazardous substance pollutant or contaminant may exist.
A Wartime Footprint with Lasting Impact
Originally established as the Denver Ordnance Plant during World War II, the DFC was a key player in America’s wartime production. The facility once employed over 22,000 workers and churned out more than 6,000 cartridges per day. But the speed and scale of production came with environmental consequences.
Manufacturing and testing munitions involved a host of hazardous chemicals. Following the war, the General Services Administration (GSA) took over the site, transitioning it into a campus for multiple federal agencies. Unfortunately, waste disposal practices of the era were primitive by today’s standards. Wastes—including solvents, heavy metals, and PCBs—were buried in landfills scattered across the campus. One particularly damaging leak occurred near Building 52, where an underground storage tank released 1,1,1-trichloroethane (TCA), a solvent used in asphalt testing. The resulting groundwater plume migrated beyond the property’s boundaries, contaminating nearby wells.
Cleanup Efforts: Too Little, Too Late?
The scope of contamination eventually triggered federal intervention. By the late 1980s, extensive remediation was underway. Crews removed over 775,000 tons of waste and more than 340,000 tons of contaminated soil, particularly from heavily affected areas like Downing Reservoir. While these efforts were substantial, the contamination’s reach and the complexity of groundwater remediation pose lingering concerns.
The Denver Federal Center was removed from the Superfund list in 2012 due to clean up measures being concluded. However, if development is going to be done more testing may be needed.
2 + 2 = … Or doing math the developer boot-licker’s way
Alex at Somebody Should Do Something posted a lengthy set of articles regarding The Bend development with specific attention to traffic and economic development.
Summary:
The Bend development has significant traffic impacts but the Lakewood is considering only half the impacts in order to gain project approval
Traffic study minimizes impacts in a pattern first noted in the Belmar Park development
Economic benefits cited that disagree with overall city economics, suggesting biased reporting
Traffic planning for emergency management situations is suffering in a pattern seen at C-470 and Indiana
Plans to pave the south side and render the surface impermeable are meant to decrease contamination fears but raise questions of stormwater drainage, which Lakewood inadequately manages throughout the city
Traffic for one half of the project is estimated to increase traffic 10%
Total estimated residential units are 2356, 18% higher than the rounded-down figure of 2000 units commonly quoted, with no guarantee of final numbers
Metro district application material misleadingly states that there are no other service providers for this area when in fact, there are service providers for everything needed. There are not service providers to fund for development, which is not a purpose of any government.
Highlights from Alex at Somebody Should Do Something
Part 1
In the latest installment of the “how can a self-proclaimed progressive city council enrich a developer to the detriment of the environment and the community’s well-being”, City of Lakewood is allowing a developer to push forward with a development which will significantly increase traffic on a major thoroughfare, further strain our environment, potentially expose the future residents to toxic hazards AND, again, bring no meaningful economic development to the city.
Royal Lakewood Land Partners has made a submission for a development called “The Bend”, situated on the NW corner of the Federal Center, close to the intersection of the 4th Avenue and Union Boulevard, and, just a hop and a skip away from the off and the on-ramp from the 6th Avenue.
To add the insult to the many more injuries to come, as shown in the 2007 Master Plan, the site was originally slated for Office Development – a perfect potential use, considering the proximity of the LightRail tracks and the dire need for this city to stoke actual economic development.
As usually is the case, the math does not add up. The developer is using the tactic of “here is a traffic study… but it’s only for a part of the development, but we won’t even tell you how many poor souls we want to stuff in to these chicken coops. Then they talk about how this will “hardly” affect traffic, etc.
By the time the locals realize just how badly it will have screwed them, the city council and the bureaucrats, who had enabled this environmental and economic disaster, will have moved on to something else, such as being a State Representative, where they continue to shill for the developer profit (ahem, Rebecca Stewart).
So, lets see if 2 + 2 equals 4, or, maybe, 17, or maybe a dumpster fire for decades to come. Who knows. The math is very political-contribution-size-dependent these days.
Lets look at some of the documents in the submission provided by the developer.
01 – The Bend Minor Subdivision Plat – Traffic Study_2024-10-10
There are only details show for the Southern part of the plat – what about the Northern part of the plat? This is where the math gets hazy, quick. A tactic of piece-mealing the development plans is frequently used (just as is the case with the development near Belmar) to, lets say, omit, the actual impact of the additional car-travel-per-day numbers on the area surrounding the development. Not only will this adversely impact the surrounding area, but also add to the already high total of vehicles having to travel out of Lakewood, since Lakewood has failed to attract localized, high-tech, well-paying employment.
Read the rest about environmental and drainage problems at Somebody Should Do Something
Part 2
Lakewood (and Colorado at large) are not exactly known for keeping up with building up infrastructure needed to support the additional thousands of people they keep stuffing here. Nor are they known for making the developers pay their fair share for the traffic created, parks overloaded, or the schools needed. However, Lakewood is well known for enabling Metro Districts and the potential resident abuse that comes with them.
Of course, there will be a Metro District. Following are some of the snippets from the Metro-District-related documents submitted by the developer for The Bend
“The population of the District at build-out is estimated to be approximately 3,350 people, based on a projected number of 2,000 multifamily units and 100,000 square feet of commercial, and a population estimate of 1.5 persons per multifamily unit and 3.5 employees per square foot of commercial property.”
So, HOW MANY UNITS WILL THERE BE? And just as was the case with the Red Rocks Ranch, the development might potentially work out as a net negative to the county and the city?
The Bend @ Lakewood MD Service Plan Application Memorandum 4875-7617-6597 4 .DOCX
“The existing service in the area to be served by the proposed project is inadequate for present and projected needs. There is currently no other jurisdiction or entity, including the City, that considers it feasible or practical to provide the Development with the water, sanitation, street, storm sewer, or other improvements and services described in the Service Plan necessary to serve the anticipated Development. Current services are inadequate, and it is necessary for the District to be organized to provide such Public Improvements and services for the benefit of its future inhabitants.”
In fact, there IS sanitation service and fire service and storm-water service. These are all covered by existing city and special districts in which the property is located. However, there is no taxpayer funding for development, and that is what the metro district will provide.
And of course, any service provided would have to follow the rules in place, rather than creating their own rules, right? For example – lets look at the Rules and Regulations of one of the nearest Water and Sanitation Districts, Green Mountain Water and Sanitation.
Read the rest of Part 2 at Somebody Should Do Something
‘Long time coming’: Lakewood homeless encampment cleared
From https://kdvr.com/, by Alliyah Sims,
LAKEWOOD, Colo. (KDVR) — After nearly two weeks of pushing for answers and two years of neighbors dealing with a growing homeless encampment at the 6th Avenue and Wadsworth Boulevard interchange in Lakewood, crews cleared the site Wednesday.
Mounting trash, fires being started, needles found in neighbors’ backyards, and contamination in a waterway that feeds into the Platte River were all big concerns.
Cleanup started around 9 a.m. on Wednesday and lasted about 8 hours.
Read the full article from KDVR
Half-Life of Memory:
America’s Forgotten Atomic Bomb Factory documentary screening in Lakewood – May 8
Rockley’s Event Center, Lakewood, CO
8555 W Colfax Ave, Lakewood, CO 80215
Thursday, May 08, 20256:30 PM – Film Screening
Q&A to follow with FBI Agent Jon Lipsky, Rocky Flats Worker Judy Padilla, Director Jeff Gipe, Dianne Duffey and Dave Wiechman, concerned citizens.
Ramey Johnson will moderate.
For more information about the film, visit: www.halflifeofmemory.com
