2012 SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 12-024 BY SENATOR(S) Bacon, Schwartz, Renfroe, Aguilar, Boyd, Brophy, Cadman, Carroll, Foster, Giron, Grantham, Guzman, Harvey, Heath, Hodge, Hudak, Jahn, Johnston, King K., King S., Lambert, Lundberg, Mitchell, Morse, Neville, Newell, Nicholson, Roberts, Scheffel, Spence, Steadman, Tochtrop, White, Williams S., Shaffer B.; also REPRESENTATIVE(S) Sonnenberg, Brown, Vigil, Barker, Baumgardner, Bradford, Casso, Duran, Ferrandino, Fields, Fischer, Hullinghorst, Jones, Joshi, Kefalas, Kerr A., Labuda, Lee, Levy, Looper, Massey, Miklosi, Nikkel, Pabon, Pace, Peniston, Ramirez, Ryden, Scott, Singer, Solano, Soper, Swerdfeger, Todd, Young, McNulty. CONCERNING THE ABATEMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINANTS IN AND DEMOLITION OF STRUCTURES ON LAND LOCATED IN THE CITY OF PUEBLO, ADJACENT TO THE COLORADO STATE FAIR GROUNDS. WHEREAS, The Colorado State Fair Authority entered into a lease with the federal government on April 1, 1947, for 1.72 acres of land located on the corner of Northern Avenue and Acero Avenue in the city of Pueblo, adjacent to the Colorado State Fair grounds; and WHEREAS, The 1947 lease was later superceded and canceled by a new lease dated June 6, 1957; and WHEREAS, The 1957 lease specified that the federal government would pay one dollar as rent for the term of the lease, including any renewals, and that the federal government had the right to erect structures upon the land; and WHEREAS, The 1957 lease also specified that the federal government would own whatever structures were erected on the property. The 1957 lease further sets forth that the federal government may abandon any or all of the structures constructed; and WHEREAS, The 1957 lease further specifies that the federal government agrees to maintain the premises and the erected improvements at all times and at its own expense, in an orderly and proper manner; and WHEREAS, The property and the erected structures were used as a United States Navy Reserve Center until July 1994, providing facilities for Navy, Marine Corps, and Army reserve personnel for training and military functions. Although the Navy had vacated the facility in late 1985, the Army reserve continued to use the property until 1994; and WHEREAS, The structures and land have remained unoccupied since the federal government vacated the property; and WHEREAS, The structures were built with asbestos-containing material and lead-based paint. In August 1994, the federal government conducted an Environmental Baseline Survey of the structures to determine the scope of its remediation requirements. Friable asbestos and lead-based paint were identified as remediation problems, and the project was identified as a "Category 7/Gray", indicating areas that were unevaluated or required additional evaluation. Furthermore, hazardous substance contamination was found at the small arms firing range, and petroleum product contamination was found from an underground storage tank; and WHEREAS, In 1998, the federal government performed remediation for the asbestos and petroleum contamination. This remediation involved the excavation and vacuuming of all soil within the firing range into drums and disposition of the material as allowed by Colorado law, the removal of one 20-gallon underground storage drum from the site, and the removal of approximately 8,823 square feet of mixed friable and non-friable asbestos-containing material from the structures. Despite the 1994 Environmental Baseline Survey finding of the need to remediate lead-based paint, no remediation was performed concerning the lead-based paint; and WHEREAS, A subsequent study performed by the federal government later in 1998 determined that no contaminated soil remained, no petroleum products were present, and no further friable asbestos was present in the air or asbestos-containing materials that were sampled. The study indicated that some remaining asbestos-containing materials, such as vinyl floor tile, existed but they were non-friable and in good condition; and WHEREAS, In a July 28, 1999, letter to the Navy from the Colorado State Fair Authority, the Authority stated that the Authority "plans to demolish the main buildings and probably save one out building for storage"; and WHEREAS, The federal government issued a final report in October 1999 that elevated the condition rating of the facility to a "Category 4/Dark Green", with a recommendation that no further action was required. This report provided a lead-based paint hazards release for signature by the Colorado State Fair Authority. No lead-based paint remediation was ever performed, despite the Environmental Baseline Survey finding of the need for lead-based paint remediation; and WHEREAS, The Colorado State Fair Authority believes that the remediation performed by the federal government was based on the federal government's idea of returning the land with the structures to the Authority. Under this scenario the asbestos-containing materials and lead-based paint would not be disturbed and so would pose no health problems. However, the Authority's position is that it has always indicated it did not want to keep the structures and wanted the land returned to the Authority as vacant land. Demolition of the structures would obviously disturb the asbestos-containing materials and lead-based paint; and WHEREAS, On December 15, 1999, the federal government sent a letter to the director of facilities services at the Colorado State Fair Authority indicating that the "Navy has completed all necessary environmental clean up and documentation" on the property. This letter included an attached Special Release to be signed by the Colorado State Fair Authority. The letter states that, upon signature of the Special Release, the federal government would consider the 1957 lease formally canceled; and WHEREAS, The release states that the Colorado State Fair Authority, "for and in consideration of the surrender of any remaining improvements constructed by the [federal government], which are hereby accepted by the Lessor in their present condition, has . . . released, and forever discharged the United States of America . . . from all manner of action, claims, or demands against the United States of America" that the Colorado State Fair Authority has "ever had, now has or ever will have . . . arising out of . . . [the] occupancy by the United States of America" of the property; and WHEREAS, The Colorado State Fair Authority has never signed this release; and WHEREAS, In 2001, the Colorado State Fair Authority contracted with an environmental services company to determine the nature and extent of any remaining contamination that would require special demolition techniques. The report concluded that it appeared that a number of discrepancies and inconsistencies were identified, "which places into question the adequacy of the inspections, sampling, analysis and abatement activities that were performed." The report went on to say that "[c]onsidering the issues identified in our review, questions are raised about the 'Determination of Suitability for Termination of Lease US Navy Reserve Center, Pueblo Colorado' prepared and submitted to the Colorado State Fair Authority in 1999."; and WHEREAS, In a December 24, 2002, letter to Ms. Debra Ladd, Environmental Engineer, United States Navy, Mr. Jeff Edson, the Manager of the Remediation and Restoration Unit at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, states that his "department is concerned, based on the results of its inspection of 1996 . . . that improper storage and/or disposal of hazardous waste and solid waste may exist at the former Naval Reserve Center facility." Mr. Edson requested that the Navy provide any and all work plans, sampling results, site inspection reports, and related correspondence associated with any past efforts to remediate the environmental issues. The letter concludes "Due to the serious nature of the issues described . . . the Department appreciates an expeditious response to this request."; and WHEREAS, The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment indicates there is no follow-up correspondence in their file related to the December 24, 2002, letter; and WHEREAS, In August 2003, the Colorado State Fair Authority received a cost estimate for the abatement and demolition of four of the structures. The cost estimates included an industrial hygiene technician to observe abatement activities to ensure federal, state, and local regulations are adhered to, and included costs for collection and analysis of final clearance air sampling as required by Colorado regulations where friable asbestos-containing material is abated. The cost estimates ranged from $173,874 to $376,034; and WHEREAS, A November 1, 2007, letter from Representative Mark Udall and Representative John Salazar to the Honorable Donald C. Winter, Secretary of the Navy, indicates that "part of the problem in resolving the status of these buildings is that no one has been able to establish the chain of responsibility for removing the asbestos. We are not going to assume that the Navy bears full responsibility for any remaining cleanup, but it does seem to [us] that it would be helpful if the Navy agreed to participate in a meeting with state and federal authorities to examine the records and determine whether any assistance is appropriate. We plan to ask the EPA to participate as well. The Navy enjoyed the use of these facilities for many years and paid little in rent to the City of Pueblo or to the State of Colorado. We know the Navy paid for some, but not all of the asbestos removal. We hope that you will agree that a conversation with Navy authorities would be helpful in bringing this problem to closure."; and WHEREAS, A November 20, 2007, response letter from the federal government states that "The Navy believes it has met all of its environmental cleanup responsibilities for this property under applicable regulations and the lease, but would be pleased to participate in a discussion with the Colorado State Fair, the Colorado Department of Health, and the Environmental Protection Agency to help establish the relevant facts and related responsibilities for any remaining cleanup."; and WHEREAS, It appears to the General Assembly that a meeting was attempted to be scheduled with all the parties but the meeting never occurred; and WHEREAS, In 2007, the structures were broken into, copper pipes were stolen, and some of the pipe wrappings and insulation were ripped off. As a result of the break-in, the asbestos-containing material may have been disturbed; and WHEREAS, Until this year, neither the Colorado State Fair Authority nor the Department of Agriculture have requested the funding from the General Assembly for the demolition of these structures. It is the General Assembly's understanding that this is due to the fact that the Colorado State Fair Authority and the Department of Agriculture have been attempting to negotiate with the federal government to help identify cleanup options and areas of responsibility; and WHEREAS, In a February 24, 2012, Memorandum to Representative Jerry Sonnenberg, the Commissioner of Agriculture, John Salazar, requests funding for this project and indicates that the demolition of these structures "is a high priority of the department and for the State Fair." The Memorandum goes on to say that the "building poses a liability for the state and its demolition is in the best interests of fairgoers, employees, and neighbors of the Fairgrounds." The cost estimate attached to the Memorandum provides a grand total cost of $451,384 to abate and demolish the structures; and WHEREAS, The State Architect is required to annually review the controlled maintenance need of state facilities. As a result of the Commissioner of Agriculture's request for funding, the State Architect determined that the facility poses a security risk because it is abandoned, contains hazardous materials, and is located outside the perimeter fence of the Colorado State Fair. The State Architect determined that the level of controlled maintenance need for the facility is a score 4, with score 1 indicating the highest level of need; and WHEREAS, The Governor's Office of State Planning and Budgeting has approved the submission of this project as a traditional Capital Construction request in the form of a late budget amendment and submitted the request to the Capital Development Committee as priority 34 of 34 on the Office's list of state-funded projects; now, therefore, Be It Resolved by the Senate of the Sixty-eighth General Assembly of the State of Colorado, the House of Representatives concurring herein: That the federal government failed to properly remediate the environmental hazards posed by the structures it constructed on the 1.72 acres of land located on the corner of Northern Avenue and Acero Avenue in the city of Pueblo, adjacent to the Colorado State Fair grounds; and That the federal government is responsible for the abatement and demolition of the hazardous structures; and That the state of Colorado needs an assurance from the federal government, no later than July 1, 2012, that the federal government will abate and demolish the hazardous structures no later than July 1, 2013; and That the federal government should notify the individuals receiving a copy of this resolution when such abatement and demolition will be completed. Be It Further Resolved, That copies of this Joint Resolution be sent to Governor John Hickenlooper, the Capital Development Committee, the Colorado State Fair Authority, the Colorado Commissioner of Agriculture, the Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, the Environmental Protection Agency, the United States Department of Defense, the Secretary of the United States Navy, Senator Michael Bennet, Senator Mark Udall, Representative Diana DeGette, Representative Jared Polis, Representative Scott Tipton, Representative Cory Gardner, Representative Doug Lamborn, Representative Mike Coffman, and Representative Ed Perlmutter. ____________________________ ____________________________ Brandon C. Shaffer Frank McNulty PRESIDENT OF SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE THE SENATE OF REPRESENTATIVES ____________________________ ____________________________ Cindi Markwell Marilyn Eddins SECRETARY OF CHIEF CLERK OF THE HOUSE THE SENATE OF REPRESENTATIVES