Video in the UK

House District 8 Candidates Respond to Pollution in the Parks

The Democratic candidates for Colorado House District 8, which surrounds City Park, are Matt Bergles, Cindy Lowery, and Beth McCann. They have made position statements which are quite similar. All three have made environmental statements, to which I have linked. I wanted to see how they would respond to the information about the toxic pollutants being added to our recycled water system from Lowry Landfill. So, by mail, I sent them a letter along with supporting documentation in the form of the copies of the 3-part Westword series, explaining in detail the history of how we ended up getting this toxic mess in our sewers, and a copy of the pertinent pages of the Permit from Metro Wastewater Management which allows this to happen. In all, about 55 pages of dense information. Here is my letter to them:

April 21, 2008 Dear Candidates Bergles, Lowery, and McCann: I am writing to you on a matter of grave concern. Washington Park’s Grasmere Lake and City Park’s Ferril Lake, as well as park grasslands, are currently being contaminated with toxic chemicals from the Lowry Landfill Superfund Site. How this came about is easy to understand. In 2001 an Industrial Wastewater Discharge Permit was granted by the Metro Wastewater Reclamation District to flush pollutants (158) and radionuclides (10) from Lowry Landfill into Denver’s sewers (see enclosed list). In 2004, Denver turned on our new sewer water recycling plant, which does not remove these contaminants, and the process of toxic waste disposal was complete – from Lowry Landfill to our parks. As a candidate for House District 8, I believe you should be fully informed on the history of this problem. I urge you to read the enclosed reprint from Westword, written by award-winning author Eileen Welsome. It is dense with facts, and it is long, but it provides the details of this secretive, destructive process. I have been told that this is Denver’s problem, and that as a potential State Representative you may have no ability to change this. Nonetheless, I believe that, as an environmentally concerned official whose constituents live around City Park, you may eventually have the influence to protect the citizens of District 8 from this egregious mistake. I hope you agree that Permit No. 2360-3-1A must be revoked. Thank you for your attention to this matter. I have been writing about this on my blog, http://www.denverdirect.tv/, where I have already posted videos of your campaign statements, and I will gladly post your response. Best wishes to you in the upcoming primary. Sincerely, Jerry Trumbule

Here are their answers in alphabetical order. Hopefully, this will help you decide which of these candidates you will vote for in the Democratic primary on August 12. Matt Bergles "I have learned a lot about the issue of potentially dangerous water ending up in Denver city parks. As a candidate for state representative, I want to make sure that all of Colorado's water is as clean as can be, especially right here in the city that my family and I live in. I am very concerned with the management of the Lowry superfund sight, especially under the direction and management of the Bush Administration. There are some "gaps in the story" of how the water is flushed into Denver's sewer water recycling plant and beyond. Although I was unable to obtain solid evidence that pollutants are affecting park wildlife (several sources cited avian botulism as the culprit in duck deaths), I do believe that city of Denver health officials, along with appropriate private, neutral consultants, should test the city's park waters for contaminants - especially radionuclides - and make the results public. If unacceptable levels of pollutants are present, then federal, state and local officials must take steps to remediate - including a revocation of the industrial wastewater permit if necessary." Beth McCann "Thank you for your letter of April 21, 2008 regarding the ground water being pumped from the Lowery Landfill Superfund Site. I apologize for the delay in responding. The Westword article you sent me was quite long and dense with information ,and I did not want to rush a response without having time to consider this information fully. I appreciate the opportunity to learn more about the history of this Superfund Site. I suspect the Westword article just scratches the surface of issues related to the Lowry site. Indeed, it raised a lot of questions for me. It seems to me that there are at least four distinct and important issues raised by the Westword article, which include: (a) what level of radioactive contaminants exist at the Lowry Site; (b) where did the contaminants originate; (c) are the contaminants escaping from the site; and (d) what level of radioactive contaminants exists in the ground water being pumped and delivered to the Metro Wastewater Treatment Plant? From the article, it is not entirely clear to me what the full monitoring and testing regime is for ground water that may be escaping from the site, or whether that regime is adequate. Has it changed at all since 2001? Finally, do you know if City Park and Washington Park are directly irrigated with treated wastewater from the Metro Wastewater Treatment Plant? I know Denver's water system is quite complex and that an old irrigation ditch flows through Washington Park. The Westword article did not appear to include information on the irrigation water delivery systems for these two parks. As I mentioned, the Westword article and your letter raised a number of questions for me. First, it appears the article was written in 2001, and I imagine a lot has transpired since them. Is there more recent information available? For instance, the article stated that a USGS team had been hired by the EPA to complete an independent study of the radionuclides at Lowry. Do you know if this study or any other additional studies been completed since 2001? If so, do you know the results? Second, the article also indicated that a whistleblower suit had been filed by Adrienne Anderson. Has that lawsuit been resolved? The article stated that an initial decision in the lawsuit was expected in June of 2001. Third, the article focuses somewhat on Americium-241 and Plutonium-241, but the discharge permit only sets limits for Americium-241 and Plutonium-238, 239 and 240. Do they not monitor for Plutonium-241? Are there other radionuclides they should be monitoring that are not included in the discharge permit's limits? Fourth, the article concludes by stating that the ground water being pumped in 2001 from the Lowry site contained low levels of radionuclides that appear to be within the discharge permit's limits. Is that correct? Is there reason to believe the limits in the discharge permit are too high to protect the public's health? Do you know whether they are complying with their discharge limits? At this time, I do not have the technical expertise and all the information I need to make a fully informed decision as to whether the discharge permit for the Lowry Superfund Site should be revoked. I am quite concerned about the issues raised by you and the article. Obviously, if radioactive wastes are being discharged at unsafe levels into our waterways, onto agricultural lands and in our parks, it is a grave situation that should be promptly remedied. If I am elected to the House, I will seek to learn more about this situation. I will consider it carefully, and I will ask the tough questions and request additional investigation if needed. I am also open to considering whether the state legislature should take a more active role in addressing issues related to the Lowry site. Thank you for the background information on these issues and please keep me abreast of any developments." Cindy Lowery Update: Cindy Lowery submitted her response in the comments. Jerry (and everyone), It has come to my attention that you have not received my response to your inquiry regarding the discharge permit from Lowry Landfill water through the Denver sewer systems. Therefore, I apologize for the delay in getting this message to you. I've reviewed the information you sent as well as additional research and agree that the situation related to the Lowry Landfill Superfund Site is concerning. My understanding is that there is no guarantee that the 'water' being pumped through Denver sewers is not toxic or is being properly diluted to the point of safety. I find it concerning that more residents are not aware of these issues. As the next State Representative and as a community leader, I see my position not only as a policy leader at the Capitol but also as a leader representing the concerns of House District 8 residents in a variety of other manners. Therefore, I am committed to representing the concerns of residents related to this issue in front of the Denver City Council and to the Environmental Protection Agency. In addition, I will attend hearings and meeting pertaining to the permit renewal process and express the concerns of the residents. Thank you again for bringing my attention to this important issue. Cindy Lowery ************************************************************* Ok, there you have it. I hope you learned something about each candidate. I have not yet endorsed a candidate on this site as I prefer to gather information to present to you, the reader, so you can decide for yourselves.

Recycling Gone Bad - City Park Lake - Denver

The Metro Wastewater Reclamation District has granted a permit to the Lowry Landfill Superfund Site to flush 158 pollutants and 10 radionuclides into Denver Sewers at a rate of 25 gal per minute. Then, with the normal sewage, it is run through the Recycling Plant, where none of it is removed, and then piped to Grasmere Lake in Washington Park and Ferril Lake in City Park, and sprayed on grasslands there and elsewhere. The secret agreement between the major polluters and the City of Denver is still secret, and has 43 years yet to run. Approximately 13 million gallons per year flow from Lowry Landfill to the parks of Denver. Denver is the only place in the US where this is being done. Now before you jump all over me with "the algae is feeding on the nutrients" and not the Lowry radio active elements, I say prove it. Test the water and the algae for every pollutant that is being allowed. Adding more chemicals, as is planned, will not solve the long-term problem. We can have recycling without the Lowry carcenogenic toxins. Call your City Councilperson, the Mayor, your Colorado State Representative and State Senator. Tell them the Lowry permit must be revoked. Its only purpose is to protect the original polluters.

77 mph Theater Presents - 3 Loads to Denver

A road fantasy with a message.

Dangerous to People Inhaling

(Click on title for original source.)

near Pinon Canyon

Monday - June 21, 2008

"Fort Carson officials announced Friday that they will allow either state or federal investigators to test the soil at the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site northeast of Trinidad for uranium contamination. The announcement comes after State Representative Wes McKinley announced last Wednesday that he had four soil samples from the training facility tested and that those samples showed uranium concentrations 10 times higher than normal. Officials from the state health department said that they would be willing to discuss sampling at Pinon Canyon with the army, if requested. The health department said that while they don’t consider the sample data provided by Representative McKinley to be a sign of any imminent public health threat, the uranium content reported in McKinley’s samples would be dangerous to people inhaling the heavy metal.

McKinley believes that the state of Colorado shares jurisdiction over Pinon Canyon with the army and he wants testing done to determine the extent and source of the uranium in the soil samples. McKinley doesn’t want congress to authorize any further expansion of the training area until the contamination questions have been answered and the sight cleaned up if necessary."

Denver's Eroding Tax Base

You may recall that some time ago I called into question Denver’s ability to pay the interest for the enormous bond issue of Ref A, B, etc., estimated to be somewhere north of $1 billion.

Comments were made that included Denver’s stable tax base as a reason to have no fear. But recent events have revealed a scenario that I think will cause serious erosion of the City’s income from real property taxes.

What I’m reporting here are facts derived from public records. I chose these properties by searching on http://www.recolorado.com/. I started at the low end.

Address	Last Assessed Value	Current Asking Price	% Change
862 S. Patton Ct.	$101,200	$24,900	-75%
2850 Jackson St.	$126,000	$24,900	-80%
3644 York St.	$240,500	$35,000	-85%
1815 E. 37th Ave	$112,100	$25,900	-76%
4718 Vine St.	$148,600	$29,900	-80%
1132 S Zenobia St.	$150,500	$34,900	-77%
4915 Clayton St.	$126,600	$39,000	-70%
3296 Cook St.	$121,600	$38,000	-69%

See a pattern here? If these properties sell at or below the asking price, the property tax automatically falls by the same percentage (not taking mill levy into account).

First, what on earth were these City assessors smoking when they appraised these junkers at these outlandish values? Oh, that’s right, these assessments were done two years ago when they were all “high” on real estate frenzy. Whatever the reason, the newly named Manager of Finance (formerly Manager of Revenue) had best prepare for a drastic decline in revenue from property tax, a major source of income for the City.

As previously pointed out, giving away our tax rebate (Ref C) and signing up for $1,000,000,000 of new interest payments (Ref A, B, C, …) was a very bad idea. Hickenlooper must have known that the City was in for a thrashing when he was dancing with the Red Letters, but his ties to the developers drove him on.

No wonder Hickenlooper wants to sell booze in the parks. The people are going to need a lot of booze to forget what’s happening to them as the economy, both nationally and here in Denver, approaches the dimensions of a “Greater Depression”.

Don’t say you weren’t forewarned.

Protesters to be Allowed to Camp in Polluted Park

If you've been reading this blog you know that I have conclusively demonstrated that approximately 13 million gallons per year of effluent from the Lowry Landfill Superfund Site are being added to our recycled water and then sprayed on the grassland and pumped into the lake at City Park, Washington Park, and elsewhere. The effluent contains 158 identified pollutants and 10 radionuclides. Now the City has agreed (see below) to let the protesters camp there for the week of the DNC. That'll teach 'em. P.S. I hope not. I've emailed Tent State with the info. I'll post their response.

Tent State at City Park, Denver

by way of Dave Webster for CPWNA:

photo from www.tentstate.org

From: "Kuykendall, Helen - Parks & Rec"
Subject: Tent State University at City Park
Date: Fri, 20 Jun 2008 22:38:


This message is to inform you that Denver Parks and Recreation is issuing an assembly permit to Tent State University, a group that plans to bring college students from across the country to Denver for an event at City Park, during the Democratic National Convention. After consulting with the City Attorney’s office it was determined the event qualifies as an assembly event that would fall under specific provisions of the revised municipal code. The event is planned for each day between Sunday, August 24 through Thursday, August 28 with approximately 20,000 participants and will be located in the vicinity of the soccer fields southwest of the City Park Pavilion. August 23 & August 29 will be the set up and take down dates.

Since it is the policy of the city to uphold free speech and assembly on city property so long as no laws or rules are violated, the assembly permit will be issued to Tent State University. However, due to a number of concerns about the event that were identified regarding disruptions from amplified sound and access issues during the event, a number of reasonable conditions were placed on the permit to strive for an orderly and organized event without adverse impacts on park resources, activities and operations. The conditions are listed below and the permit can be revoked if the conditions are not met:

a.. A detailed site plan must be submitted, approved and properly executed.
b.. A detailed plan for amplified sound (including location, date(s) and times) must be submitted, approved and properly executed.
c.. A detailed trash collection and removal plan (including recycling) must be submitted, approved and properly executed.
d.. A detailed sanitation (portalets) and drinking water plan must be submitted, approved and properly executed.
e.. A detailed plan of any planned vending activities must be submitted, approved and properly executed.
f.. A detailed logistics plan including set-up and tear down must be submitted, approved and properly executed.
g.. A detailed security plan including monitoring alcohol issues, camping after hours, etc. must be submitted, approved and properly executed.
h.. A detailed parking plan for both the public and event staff must be submitted, approved and properly executed.
i.. A detailed plan for notification of neighborhood organizations (City Park Alliance and Friends Groups, City Council, the Denver Zoo, the Museum of Nature and Science, etc.) must be submitted, approved and properly executed.
j.. Other steps to abide by Parks and Recreation Department and City & County of Denver rules and regulations.

Adam Jung, the event organizer for Tent State University, has met with city staff and offered assurances of their intent to fulfill these conditions and promote a positive atmosphere around the event activities. He is planning to meet with neighborhood groups as soon as possible and is very open to suggestions and comments on their plans.

Below is the web link for Tent State University
http://www.tentstate.org/


Helen Kuykendall City Park Administrator

and from the Tent State site:

Come to Denver to end a war!

Tent State University (TSU) will be built this August outside the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado. TSU will serve as an "alternative university," a space in which to experience real democracy, a staging area for actions and protests towards the DNC, a venue for musical artists, political theatre, and town hall democracy, multiple '"classrooms" to share and learn tactics and strategies to immediately end the war, and housing for tens of thousands of activists dedicated to holding the parties accountable.

Tent State University will host tens of thousands of activists. We are progressive democrats, greens, anarchists, students, socialists, soldiers, daughters, and brothers. While we may carry different ideologies or creeds, we are united in a firm determination to end this war.

Pinon Canyon Ablaze

Today Colorado Representative Wes McKinley revealed that recent soil sample tests from the Army's Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site showed high levels of uranium. At a press conference in the Capitol, McKinley explains how the fact that the area is now on fire makes the issue much "hotter". Go to the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center for the whole story, including supporting documentation. While you are there, consider giving a donation, to support their outstanding efforts.

Denver - Local Invasion of Black Helicopters

file photo

reported from the scene by Pat Manning:

Denver, City Park West, 8:00 pm - According to a Denver Police spokesperson, the invasion of black helicopters with uniformed men hanging off of them, experienced by this neighborhood this evening, is a practice run of Navy Seals and SWAT teams, landing at the Civic Center, Childrens Hospital, and City Park, in preparation for the Democratic National Convention. Hmmmm....

Update (6-17-08): Denver Post, Rocky Mountain News