Fort Collins, Larimer County and Loveland have reached an agreement on who will pay millions of dollars for environmental clean-up at the Larimer County landfill, where contaminants have been leaching into surrounding groundwater and surface water for decades. The landfill was built in the 1960s, before environmental regulations required sanitary linings. As a result, a plume of contaminants from buried waste has reached groundwater and surface water surrounding the 180-acre site between Fort Collins and Loveland. The county, Fort Collins and Loveland co-own the landfill.
Contaminated groundwater and surface water can be a hazard for drinking water supplies, wildlife and irrigated land, but the contaminants of concern haven’t reached any drinking water sources, officials said. They track potential water impacts by sampling groundwater wells that are used for drinking water or stock water in the area.
The county has been leading efforts to address the pollution and recently submitted a draft assessment of corrective measures plan to the state in late December. The county and cities made the intergovernmental agreement for payment public in December, following a year and a half of discussion.