Since 1996, ERO has had a general environmental services contract with the City of Thornton. This contract has included Phase I and II Environmental Site Assessments for properties and transportation corridors, Phase III site remediation plans, petroleum storage tank closures, analyses of environmental effects of road construction, evaluations and modeling of health risks at contaminated sites, development of stormwater management plans, and oversight and review of third-party environmental investigations. ERO has coordinated emergency responses to spills and hazardous waste management and disposal of materials uncovered during construction projects. ERO scientists inventoried all city-owned underground petroleum storage tanks.
ERO also works with Thornton on natural resource–related projects to ensure the city complies with applicable federal regulations, including providing all environmental services for the proposed Thornton Water Project, a 73-mile pipeline from Fort Collins to Thornton. ERO is providing environmental oversight and review for project construction to ensure construction activities will meet all environmental requirements and do not trigger the need for extensive federal environmental permitting; such work includes providing wetland delineations, jurisdictional determination requests, Section 404 permitting, migratory bird and other wildlife surveys, and assistance with 1041 permit applications. Specific project highlights from the past several years with Thornton include:
- Preparing an EA for the Thornton and Columbine Water Treatment Plant Expansions to secure state funding.
- Providing oversight and review of third-party environmental investigations.
- Section 404 permitting for various infrastructure projects, including West Cooley Reservoir, Cooley East Reservoir, 144th Avenue Widening, and 128th Avenue Widening.
