The Park City government issued an order prohibiting the Park City School District from continuing construction on its North 40 property after neighbors complained about unexpected work on the site.

A resident brought the issue to the municipality’s attention after observing construction activity on the property, which borders Lucky John Drive and the northern edge of the future Treasure Mountain Sports Complex, according to officials.

The school district’s athletic makeover, which involves work at the Treasure Mountain site in addition to Dozier Field, required a conditional use permit to begin construction. City officials said they assessed the activity on the North 40 fields and determined further review was needed “to ensure the work aligns” with the approved permits.

The city then issued a stop work order for the North 40 property on Thursday morning.

“The city and school district are working together to determine an appropriate path forward,” city officials said. “The order applies only to the North 40 field area, and approved work elsewhere on the site may continue.”

The Park City School District, in a statement to The Park Record, said the realignment of Dozier Field restricted available space for events like shot put, javelin and discus. District officials had tentatively proposed moving those events to the North 40 property, but contractors started construction work before the district could contact the city for permission or additional permits.

School officials said the district stopped “early preparatory marking work” after neighbors “made the district aware of the activity.”

“We’re actively coordinating with Park City Municipal, the Division of Environmental Response and Remediation and the Department of Environmental Quality to ensure full compliance,” the district said. “Since the proposed layout consists only of concrete throw circles and removable netting, with no permanent structures, we’re confirming whether any updates to our existing conditional use permit are necessary before proceeding.”

Construction of the new sports complex has already required state oversight following contractors’ decision to dump contaminated groundwater into Silver Creek on the east side of the property. It was the second reported environmental issue on the site, with the district having already received a non-compliance advisory related to asbestos abatement.

The site has since been dewatered, but contractors later discovered contaminated soil on the property. The soil was removed and transported to a landfill last month.

The post Park City stops school district from construction on North 40 fields after residents complained of unexpected activity appeared first on Park Record.

The Park City School District has removed contaminated soil uncovered on the Treasure Mountain demolition site to comply with a local environmental covenant despite the Utah Department of Environmental Quality’s ruling that the material did not need to be treated as hazardous waste.

Colton Elliott, a spokesperson for the district, confirmed contractors began transporting soil piles to a landfill last week and completed the project on Wednesday afternoon.

“As outlined under state regulatory guidance and our approved site management protocols, any soil exceeding thresholds is required to be safely disposed of off-site,” Elliott said. “Throughout the removal process, the district continues to coordinate with the Utah Department of Environmental Quality to ensure all environmental and safety protocols are strictly followed, including ongoing dust mitigation and air quality monitoring.”

The Utah Department of Environmental Quality concluded a joint investigation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency last month into whether the site qualified for a hazardous waste exemption under state and federal law.

Whether waste is legally classified as hazardous or non-hazardous is important because specialists may be needed to clean and dispose of hazardous materials depending on the level of toxicity. Waste classified as non-hazardous may still have contaminants, but at a low enough level that it may be disposed of in a traditional landfill.

The contaminated soil, which had elevated levels of arsenic and lead, was uncovered by contractors on the property when the district demolished the Treasure Mountain Junior High building to create room for its new sports complex.

Dave Noriega with the Department of Environmental Quality previously said that heightened levels of arsenic and lead are to be expected in a historic mining town like Park City and that the presence of those materials does not necessarily pose health concerns to the local community.

“Perimeter air monitoring has consistently shown lead and dust levels below (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) exposure limits, meaning airborne exposure has not been a risk,” Noriega said in April. “Because the contaminated soil is properly handled and contained under the site’s safety plans, immediate exposure risks to the public are mitigated.”

The district qualified for a Bevill exemption, meaning it did not need to treat the soil as hazardous waste. The exemption may be granted for a variety of reasons, but it is likely the school district qualified because of the town’s mining history, as the exemption was designed to make removing industrial and mining waste at its point of origin easier.

However, the Park City School District was still required to remove and transport the contaminated soil to a landfill because of a 2017 environmental covenant it entered with Summit County.

The covenant was created after the Environmental Protection Agency discovered contaminated soil on the Treasure Mountain campus in 2014, which led to a federal investigation and cleanup in 2016. The school district filed the environmental covenant with Summit County the following year “to mitigate the risk to the public health, safety and the environment.”

The agreement included a provision requiring the school district to remove any materials that fail to meet Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure thresholds, which is a chemical analysis to determine levels of toxicity.

The state’s determination allows the district to more easily dispose of the soil, but it does not mean the soil is not contaminated. The piles failed to meet the threshold outlined in the environmental covenant because of the heightened lead and arsenic levels, meaning the district must dispose of the material in a landfill instead of reburying it, as it has done in the past.

The Park City School District has not been fined for the contaminated soil, which Noriega previously said is reserved for “a significant violation, which has not occurred” in Park City.

The post Park City School District removes contaminated soil from Treasure Mountain site appeared first on Park Record.

The Utah Department of Environmental Quality says the Park City School District does not need to treat contaminated soil on the Treasure Mountain demolition site as hazardous waste, but a local agreement with the Summit County government will require the soil to be disposed of anyway.

The state agency, which safeguards air, land and water, sent a letter to the district’s environmental consultant on June 12 stating it concluded a joint investigation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regarding whether the site qualified for a hazardous waste exemption under state and federal law.

Whether waste is legally classified as hazardous or non-hazardous is important because specialists may be needed to clean and dispose of hazardous materials depending on its level of toxicity. Waste that is classified as non-hazardous may still have contaminants, but at a low enough level that they may be disposed of in a traditional landfill.

The contaminated soil, which had elevated levels of arsenic and lead, was uncovered by contractors on the property when the district demolished the Treasure Mountain Junior High building to create room for its new sports complex.

Dave Noriega with the Department of Environmental Quality previously told The Park Record that heightened levels of arsenic and lead are to be expected in a historic mining town like Park City and that the presence of those materials does not necessarily pose health concerns to the local community.

“Perimeter air monitoring has consistently shown lead and dust levels below (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) exposure limits, meaning airborne exposure has not been a risk,” Noriega said in April. “Because the contaminated soil is properly handled and contained under the site’s safety plans, immediate exposure risks to the public are mitigated.”

The letter said the district qualified for a Bevill exemption, meaning it does not need to treat the soil as hazardous waste, which often involves more extensive and costly cleanup efforts. The exemption may be granted for a variety of reasons, but it is likely that the Park City School District qualified because of the town’s mining history, as the exemption was designed to make removing industrial and mining waste at its point of origin easier.

However, the district still needs to remove and transport the contaminated soil to a landfill because of a 2017 environmental covenant it entered with Summit County.

The covenant was created after the Environmental Protection Agency first discovered contaminated soil on the Treasure Mountain Junior High School site in 2014, which led to a federal investigation and cleanup in 2016. The school district filed the environmental covenant with Summit County the following year “to mitigate the risk to the public health, safety and the environment.”

The agreement included a provision requiring the school district to remove any materials that fail to meet Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure thresholds, which is a chemical analysis to determine levels of toxicity.

The Department of Environmental Quality’s determination allows the district to more easily dispose of the soil, but it does not mean the soil is not contaminated. The piles still failed to meet the threshold outlined in the environmental covenant because of the heightened lead and arsenic levels, meaning the district will need to dispose of the material in a landfill instead of reburying it, as it has done in the past.

However, the Bevill exemption will allow the district to remove the soil without classifying it as hazardous materials. If the soil were hazardous, the district would need to take it to a specialized facility and handle it with more care. Without the hazardous designation, the district may take the soil to a permitted Class I, Class II or Class V landfill, which is a cheaper and less intensive process.

Three Mile Landfill in Summit County is a Class I landfill, but a county spokesperson said that doesn’t necessarily mean the landfill will accept the soil, adding that it will likely depend on the dirt’s level of contamination.

The Department of Environmental Quality requested the district obtain a “letter of acceptance” from the landfill before disposing of any materials, in addition to providing a schedule “for the expeditious removal of stockpiled soils.”

The Park City School District has not been fined for the contaminated soil, which Noriega previously said is reserved for “a significant violation, which has not occurred” in Park City.

The Park City School District released a statement about the Bevil exemption and safety measures for the Treasure Mountain site on Thursday afternoon. The district said it met with the state’s enviornmental response and remiadiation team on June 17 to discuss next steps and its awaiting a response.

District officials added:

“The safety of our community is a top priority. We continue to follow the guidance of the DEQ and EPA, with a hired environmental consultant onsite to ensure that all safety protocols are followed. Additionally, we’ve been closely monitoring air quality on a daily basis to ensure it remains within safe limits throughout this process. Also, it’s important to note that the exposed soil onsite consists of clean soil that we brought in, further emphasizing our commitment to maintaining a safe environment. Furthermore, while regulatory requirements only mandated that one specific soil stockpile be covered, we chose to cover the remaining piles as a proactive, best-practice measure out of an abundance of caution.”

The post State agency gives Park City School District exemption for contaminated soil, but local agreement still requires removal appeared first on Park Record.