California Gulch

⚠ Superfund · Cleanup underway

​The EPA recommends testing your children for lead every year, especially kids under 8. This is especially important if the soil at your property was not replaced in past cleanups. ​To schedule a blood test, call Lake County Public Health at (719) 486-8181.

Location

CityLeadville
CountyLake County
StateColorado
Coordinates39.23128, -106.29552

Contaminants of concern

Contaminated media

Cleanup timeline

  1. Initial Assessment Completed — 08/30/1982
  2. Proposed to the National Priorities List — 12/30/1982
  3. Finalized on the National Priorities List — 09/08/1983
  4. Remedial Investigation Started — 12/30/1983
  5. Remedy Selected — 03/29/1988
  6. Final Remedy Selected — 09/28/2010
  7. Remedial Action Started — 09/07/1988
  8. Construction Completed — Not Yet Achieved
  9. Deleted from National Priorities List — Not Yet Achieved
  10. Most Recent Five-Year Review — 09/28/2022

EPA references

Understanding this Superfund site

California Gulch is a federal Superfund site in Colorado. The Superfund program, created by Congress in 1980, addresses sites where hazardous substances have been released or threaten release into the environment. EPA scores potential sites using the Hazard Ranking System; those that score high enough are placed on the National Priorities List.

Current status: Cleanup underway. Active cleanup is underway, meaning EPA has approved a remediation plan and work is in progress. Cleanup timelines vary widely — some sites take decades depending on contamination depth, groundwater involvement, and funding availability.

EPA has identified 10 contaminants of concern at this site, including arsenic, cadmium, copper. Contamination has been detected in surface water, solid waste, soil, sediment, groundwater, liquid waste.

If you live near this site and have health concerns, your state health department can provide site-specific guidance. EPA maintains a community involvement program for most NPL sites, and site documents — including the Record of Decision, five-year reviews, and public health assessments — are typically available through EPA's Superfund site profile.