Boulder community members are encouraged to give feedback on the planned coal ash cleanup work at Xcel Energy’s Valmont Power Station.
The power station, at 1800 63rd St., has operated in Boulder since 1924. For 93 years it primarily burned coal. Although Xcel retired coal operations at the plant in 2017, the coal ash accumulated over nearly a century of coal burning now sits in multiple landfills on the property. The landfills were created without modern protective barriers, and contaminants have seeped into nearby groundwater, according to a release from Boulder County Public Health.
Xcel’s own groundwater testing found levels of lithium and selenium that exceeded groundwater protection standards in wells on and near the Valmont property in 2020. Both substances carry health risks in high concentrations, but the BCPH release said the contamination is not currently believed to impact public water supplies.
Last year, the energy utility said it planned to start work on remediating the coal ash this year. Xcel said it would permanently close one of its coal ash landfills and hire a contractor to remove about 85% of the coal ash from the landfill and process it into a ready-mix concrete additive. The concrete binds harmful constituents in the ash and keeps them from leaching into the surrounding environment.
Xcel has said it could take more than a decade to finish the remediation work.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) has opened a public comment period that will last until Nov. 20. Members of the public may review the proposed cleanup efforts, which are detailed in an Assessment of Corrective Measures Report, and give input on them before that date.
Comments can be submitted in English or Spanish to Taylor Pierce via email at taylor.pierce@state.co.us or via regular mail at CDPHE/HMWMD, 4300 Cherry Creek Drive South, Denver, CO, 80246.
Read More: Public feedback sought on ash cleanup at Boulder’s Valmont Power Station