Time and time again, to pick oneself up and carry on, all it would take would be to rub some dirt in it. But in Clarkdale, people may have been taught the contrary due to the high level of contaminants in the soil due to the copper smelter that operated northwest of Clarkdale from 1915 to 1935, which emitted toxic metal-bearing particles into the air and deposited them throughout Clarkdale.
But, as of the week of March 19 through 23, the town of Clarkdale through the United Verde Soil Program took a step to remedy the impacts of the smelter, which the community in its entirety has continued to feel and cope with today.
The United Verde Soil Program is a voluntary one which is being implemented through Freeport Minerals Corporation and is under the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality’s Voluntary Remediation Program. Prior to discovering the program, the town of Clarkdale has been searching for a solution to begin undoing the environmental impacts of the United Verde Copper Company.
According to Town Manager Gayle Mabery, the smelter was operating under poor environmental quality conditions, as it operated in an era before emissions control. She noted that the equipment emitted and deposited high levels of arsenic, copper and lead.
Maybery said since the town has partnered with Freeport in 2015, they have been conducting samplings and reaching out to property owners to have their soil tested and treated at no cost under the project. So far about 846 of the eligible 1,141 property owners have agreed to partake in the program, which will be conducted for the next couple years. This number may change as the project continues.
Through the program, the Clarkdale Town Park was determined a tier one site under the program due to the high level of contaminants found in the soil, and also being that it is a primary destination used often by the community. These factors have contributed to its demand and urgency to be addressed and is being treated first as ADEQ, Freeport and the town believe the types and levels of contaminants found in properties through Clarkdale pose a potential risk to human health, like if soil is ingested.
Certain Town Park structures such as the gazebo, sidewalks and paving will not be disturbed during the remediation project.
John Patricki of the ADEQ Waste Program Division and project manager for Clarkdale soil remediation noted that remediation of the Town Park has been going smoothly thus far, and based on other similar projects that ADEQ has overseen, he expects there to be no bumps in the road, outlining that the samplings and work can be small to large scale depending on the level of contamination and necessity for remediation.
“Freeport has done three other projects like this,” Patricki said. “I would say especially since they have done so much of the sampling already, and it’s definitely a good project because now we got the historical smelter emissions, and now were going to be cleaning that up to protect public health in the environment …. As part of the sampling plan, they go through each yard, and they will do various types of sampling up to depths of up to two feet, so they will do kind of a six-inch lift, and then they will have kind of have an idea of how much excavation they need to do.”
Additionally, Brian Stonebrink, the unit manager for VRP, also said that projects of this nature are specialities of Freeport, and they bring much experience, knowledge and attentiveness to the community throughout this process.
To ensure community satisfaction, he said Freeport and ADEQ have open dialogue with the public, which will continue with property owners who express interest or concern in the project.
“We have been involved with the project not only reviewing documents and helping with the planning, but we also, as part of our voluntary program, coordinate with other agencies if needed or within our program,” Stonebrink said. “We have also attended the open houses at Clarkdale and had a booth and are available to answer your questions, so we are very open to working with the public to provide information and have transparency.”
As work on the Town Park continues, Freeport will keep the park fenced off as a precaution to the community. Additionally, Freeport will be also be using water trucks as a dust control measure to minimize the recirculation of contaminants throughout the air during this process.
Makenna Lepowsky can be reached at 282-7795 ext. 126, or email
mlepowsky@larsonnewspapers.com
