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Show Studies reveal soils north of Prospector suitable for covering area tailings by CHRISTOPHER SMART Record staff writer About $300,000 could be saved by the Prospector Square Special Improvement District if continued study reveals what preliminary evidence indicates: Soils north of Utah Highway 248 may be suitable for landscaping areas south of the highway. According the Park City Chief Building Officer Ron Ivie, the Salt Lake City-based firm of Dames and Moore has determined that two samples of soil that were taken from a proposed roadway east of the Treasure Mountain Middle School have heavy metal concentrations far below those found in Prospector Square. Beyond the low concentrations found, additional tests for solubilityor solubi-lityor the rate at which the metals would leach into the water supply found heavy metal concentrations con-centrations to be almost nonexist-ant, nonexist-ant, Ivie said. The lead concentration in the area from Hwy. 248 to Park Meadows that is proposed to become a roadway was measured at half the allowable rate set down by the state of California as an environmental health standard. A second sample measured concentrations one fourth the health standard. Both samples are well within public safety levels, Ivie said. The special improvement district, dis-trict, however, is faced with the fact that Utah has adopted no health standard concerning con-; centrations of metals in the environment. Following a forthcoming forth-coming report from Dames and Moore, which will further detail soils in the Park Meadows area, Ivie will ask the Utah Department of Health to give its blessings to the California)." Legally, Ivie said, the special district probably doesn't need Utah Health Department approval, appro-val, but would very much like it. One proposal is to remove soil from the proposed roadway and move it to Prospector Square for landscaping. In April, residents and merchants in Prospector approved the formation of a $1.3 million improvement district. Among other things, the district would cover Prospector's soil, which has high concentrations of heavy metals, with six inches of topsoil. The strategy is to cover lead dust which could find its way into the bloodstreams of area youngsters. young-sters. By using nearby soils for landscaping, Ivie believes $300,000 could be lopped off trucking fees that have been projected at $800,000. Ivie estimates esti-mates that 55,000 yards of soil will need to be transported to . cover grounds in the residential and commercial districts of Prospector. The Dames and Moore report should be in the hands of Utah Health Department officials by May 28, Ivie said. Then the project will be put out to bid. He expects work to begin in mid-June with completion in September. Ivie added, however, that soil from the proposed roadway north of Hwy. 248 would only be used if C R Sales and Construction were awarded the bid. That is not a certainty, he said. Bids are anticipated from a number of other firms. All soils will be tested before they are moved to Prospector, Ivie said. |