CAÑON CITY — Amid an ongoing dispute over whether the Cotter Corp. must post a $4.7 million bond to ensure completion of risk assessment work at the Superfund site around its former uranium mill, Cotter claimed that it is running out of money.
Talks about the company’s financial assets and liabilities are going on behind closed doors with the Environmental Protection Agency’s enforcement division, said Paul Stoick, EPA’s remedial project manager for the Lincoln Park Superfund Site.
“I am not involved in that,” he said following a tense public meeting May 19 in Cañon City to update residents about efforts to develop a cleanup plan for the site. “I just do project management.”
However, he told the audience of about 20 people that because of concerns over Cotter’s potentially dwindling resources, the EPA was evaluating the best way to use those resources. He floated the idea of “targeted cleanup” on the mill site by moving known contaminated soils into the impoundments where about 5.3 million tons of radioactive waste is buried.
“It’s like a flashback to 2023 when the owner of the site, Colorado Legacy Land, said ‘we’re broke’ and they left,” said Emily Tracy, president of the Community Advisory Group (CAG), which serves as a liaison between the agencies overseeing the Superfund cleanup and the Fremont County community.
“We don’t want any removal action to slow down the CERCLA (Superfund) process, in particular the environmental testing.”
Will Folland, an EPA toxicologist and risk assessor for the site, said moving the toxic soil into the impoundment could prevent groundwater contamination.
Community members expressed skepticism about moving contaminated soils, including zirconium ore piles, into an impoundment that is suspected of leaking. Earlier in the meeting the CAG presented technical reports from the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s that suggest the Hypalon liner in the primary impoundment was inadequate and likely had tears. The three decades of reports also suggest the claylike soil used to line the impoundment was not impervious.
One man who joined the meeting via Zoom asked why the EPA was not considering a new properly lined impoundment for the toxic waste.
“We haven’t gotten that far,” Stoick said of the Superfund process that began 42 years ago. “We know these areas need to be cleaned up and Cotter has limited funding.”
The uranium mill
The Cotter Corporation milled uranium at the 2,600-acre site 2 miles south of Cañon City and adjacent to the Fremont County community of Lincoln Park from 1958 to 2011. It produced yellowcake for the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission and for many of those years discharged radionuclides and heavy metals into unlined ponds on the property.
The EPA added the mill site and surrounding properties to the Superfund cleanup list in 1984. In 1988 a settlement between Cotter and Colorado led to some early cleanup actions, including connecting Lincoln Park residents to Cañon City’s water, tailings and soil cleanup at various sites and construction of a groundwater barrier at the north end of the mill property.
In 2002, the EPA declared that soil remediation in Lincoln Park was complete.
The mill operated until 2006 and shut down completely in 2011. In 2014, Cotter was ordered to conduct a remedial investigation and cleanup plan for the mill site under Superfund laws. Work toward that plan has inched forward since that time.
In 2018, Cotter struck a deal with Colorado Legacy Land to take over the Superfund work as well as cleanup at the former Schwartzwalder uranium mine near Golden. It transferred the mill property and “related assets” to CLL along with $45 million, according to documents filed in the recent financial assurance dispute.
The radioactive materials license issued by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment also was transferred from Cotter to CLL. CDPHE and the Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety required CLL to post bonds to ensure work proceeded at the sites.
The EPA does not require a bond until a cleanup plan is in place.
CDPHE and DRMS officials have said the CLL advanced work in both locations, but in March 2023 the company notified state officials that it was insolvent and would discontinue work.
The announcement came as agencies were reviewing CLL’s draft remedial investigation report, a critical point in developing a plan for Superfund site cleanup. The plan was rejected Feb. 28, 2023, by the EPA, which cited numerous deficiencies.
CDPHE and the DRMS in 2023 recalled CLL’s bonds, $23 million and $7.3 million, respectively, and have since managed contracts at the sites using that money.
Cotter was brought back into the picture as a responsible party for cleanup in 2023.
CDPHE put the bond money in a decommissioning fund, which is currently about $19 million. That money became part of the dispute last fall when Cotter first told EPA officials it had been unable to secure a $4.7 million bond for the risk assessment work and then asserted that it should have received the reclaimed bond money.
During written arguments over the financial assurance requirements Cotter stated that it had worked with several financial institutions, but they were “requiring that Cotter provide cash in the full dollar amount of the surety bonds it would obtain thus depleting Cotter’s liquidity.”
Cotter also says it is no longer operating, has no employees and limited funding, according to the documents.
An April 21 ruling from EPA Region 8 Superfund & Emergency Management Division Director Aaron Urdiales states that Cotter is required to post the $4.7 million bond but also said EPA is prepared to work with the company if it submits a certified financial package detailing its assets and liabilities within 30 days.
Those discussions are ongoing, Stoick said, noting that he had no information on when a resolution might be reached.
Work continues
In an emailed response to questions, EPA officials said work at the Superfund site has continued but Cotter’s multiple requests for extensions “have resulted in delays.”
It also noted that Cotter is current on its EPA billing of $926,145 to cover EPA oversight costs, community meeting costs and technical assistance. Those costs began in 2023 when Cotter resumed responsibility after CLL left.
Cotter also has paid CDPHE $405,427 for oversight costs for fiscal year 2021 through 2025, CDPHE said in an email.
Cotter’s contractor at the Superfund site, Fort Collins-based Wright Environmental Services Inc., reported that it has finished seeking permission from 37 landowners where there are private wells to do soil testing in the Lincoln Park area. Although he did not have firm numbers, project manager Toby Wright said they had gotten 10 to 12 responses and maybe seven or eight would allow testing.
The soil testing is part of the Phase 1 Risk Assessment and is meant to reveal if the use of well water since 1998 has contaminated soils in the community, Wright said. It would be the first testing conducted under the Superfund process and would contribute to a site-wide remedial investigation report.
The Risk Assessment is the first of three studies that must be completed. Once the extent of contamination is understood, a plan on what to do about it would be developed.
The Department of Energy estimates closure of the Superfund site in 2047, when the most polluted portion of the property is expected to be turned over to the DOE for long-term management, according to the March 2026 DOE guide to legacy sites.
In December 2025, the EPA and CDPHE proposed a partial work takeover and a revamped work schedule because of Cotter’s financial problems. In January, Cotter objected to a work takeover and new schedule and the EPA ended the financial dispute negotiations, sending the matter to the regional director.
Under the Superfund laws, the EPA and CDPHE have the authority to take over work under certain circumstances, such as if work is late or deficient. But it has not done so yet.
When asked about other potential responsible parties, EPA officials declined to comment. General Atomics acquired Cotter Corporation in 2000 from Commonwealth Edison and previously listed Cotter as an affiliate on its website, however, any mention of Cotter has disappeared. In filings related to a U.S. Supreme Court decision issued last week related to radioactive contamination in St. Louis, Missouri, however, Cotter is listed as 100% owned by the defense contractor.
“EPA understands the community’s concerns and remains committed to ensuring that the cleanup work at the Lincoln Park Superfund site continues,” the EPA said in an email. “The agency has multiple legal and enforcement tools available under CERCLA to address situations involving financial uncertainty or nonperformance by responsible parties. EPA’s priority is protecting human health and the environment, and the agency will continue to evaluate all options to maintain progress toward site cleanup.”
At the recent meeting, EPA project manager Stoick said simply, “The community’s concerns are not lost on us.”
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