At its regular City Council meeting on May 12, 2009, the City Council received a presentation from the United States Environmental Protection Agency about a planned clean-up of chemicals and equipment that are incidental to the manufacturing of explosives on property located in the Lake Mountain foothills west of the City limits of Saratoga Springs. The property is owned by the State Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA) and has been leased to Cook Associates Inc., since approximately 1978. Cook no longer occupies or has access to the site and the materials that are found on the property appear to have been undisturbed since 1997.
Federal EPA officials indicate that the site is located approximately 1.5 miles west of Redwood Road (State Road 68) in the area of 2500 South (Saratoga Springs address).
The EPA has taken custody of the site. Clean up activities may include, but are not limited to, on-site incineration, off-site detonation at a secure location and re-packaging and removal of materials from the area. Federal officials are still in the process of determining the best course of action and have committed to keeping the City and the public informed of their progress and plans.
The EPA will also initiate a public participation process by making contact with homeowners who live in the area. This is an effort to notify the public of the clean-up activities and address any concerns or questions that the public may have.
Federal EPA officials will be on the site of Cook Slurry to begin the clean-up of the site beginning May 18, 2009. Initial activities during this first week of work will be to identify and segregate various wastes, repackage leaking containers, and begin to identify treatment and/or disposal options. Because they will be opening containers, personnel will wear personal protective equipment as a precaution.
The City will do its best to provide periodic updates as those are provided to us by the EPA. Click here for the latest information provided by the EPA on this project.