From the time it began in 1913 until it was shut down in 1953, the town of Clarkdale felt the affects of smelter work in the area, which it still copes with today.
But as of last month, the town decided that it would attempt to address the repercussion of the smelter factories by partaking in the United Verde Soil Program, a project that would attempt to remediate contaminated soil of parks, commercial and public properties in Clarkdale.
Through the program, which is initiated by Freeport Minerals and carried out under the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality’s voluntary remediation program, residential, commercial and public properties in Clarkdale will have the opportunity to have their soil tested and treated for contaminants such as arsenic, metal and more.
According to Town Manager Gayle Mabery, the contaminants have collected over a period of 50 years and have remained in the soil. Remedying this problem has been a concern on the mind of the town for several years, however, it was not until the town discovered the program through Freeport that remediation of land through Clarkdale seemed feasible.
“Clarkdale was a smelter community. That was our history, and smelter operated here from 1913 to 1953, and back in those days the air quality emission standards were not what they are today, obviously,” Mabery said. “So, it was common for those historic smelters to have air emissions that distributed metal particulars over areas adjacent to the smelter. So today you see those companies that still either own the property or have a legal responsibility over the effects of those emissions coming in and doing remediation.”
Thus, Freeport Minerals stepped in and is carrying out the work through the ADEQ’s Voluntary Remediation Program.
Mabery noted that the town discovered the program in 2015 and was able to tour areas through Bisbee, where restoration projects took place, to understand the process and how it would benefit properties throughout Clarkdale. Since then they have agreed to incorporate the program into the town, and have been making much headway.
“They started with a narrower scope,” Mabery said. “The properties closer in to the smelter, kind of near the testing there in the historic town site [of] upper and lower Clarkdale — parts of the town that were built when the smelter was.”
They collected data from those property owners and determined to expand the study area to include Mountain Gate and Centerville to see how far smelting had impacted the soil.
Since last month, several Clarkdale park sites have been determined to be addressed under the program. Initially, the soil sampling park sites included Centerville Park, Caballero Park, Selna Ballfield, Mongini Park and the Clarkdale Town Park. During the week of Feb. 26, the final sampling results were made available to the town of Clarkdale. The results showed that, of the five parks, Caballero Park did not exceed contamination levels, but the remaining four parks tested positive for high levels of arsenic and lead, and would undergo remediation.
To determine which sites will be treated first, the town has categorized sites based on the level of contamination in the soil.
Based on this categorization, the first site that will be treated is the Clarkdale Town Park.
According to Mabery, there are severals ways that Freeport will be remediating contaminated soils in the town parks and other sites throughout Clarkdale. To remove soil with metals above Arizona Department of Environmental Quality cleanup levels, the soil may be removed and replaced with grass, fresh sod or a permanent structure, such as concrete sidewalks, based on which is most suited to the area.
Mabery noted that Freeport expects the remediation process of the town park to take 10 to 12 weeks to complete, four to six weeks of which will be designated for new sod to be established and settled before the parks can be used.
Since the project has been implemented, the community has been receptive to the project, according to Mabery. However, she did note that some people who were given the opportunity to have their soil tested and treated denied the opportunity.
“So far 846 of those 1,141 have signed sampling agreements, [so] about 74 percent of the properties are participating so far,” she said. “There have been 25 properties that have declined to have their properties sampled. I am not aware of their reasons.”
It is expected that construction of sites such as the Clarkdale Town Park will begin the week of March 19, and during this time, the park and areas surrounding it will be closed off to ensure that projects are properly implemented and completed.
While the remediation of the town park is expected to be complete in 10 to 12 weeks, Mabery said this is a project that will be carried out over the next three years and that there are 1,141 eligible properties in Clarkdale to be sampled and treated as a part of this project.
Through the voluntary help of Freeport, the town of Clarkdale will now be able to begin undoing 50 years of effects, and while it will take three years to complete, the program will lead to a healthy future for the land and the people of Clarkdale.
Makenna Lepowsky can be reached at 282-7795 ext. 126, or email mlepowsky@larsonnewspapers.com
