Park City began hauling contaminated soil off the Gordo property last year. Over 66,000 tons of material was trucked to landfills in Coalville and Fairfield over several months, costing the city more than $3 million, a staff report shows.
The process began in 2022 when Park City was accepted into the Environmental Cleanup Program, which is administered by the Utah Department of Environmental Quality, or DEQ.
The voluntary program required the city to conduct site sampling, which found the Gordo property was unsuitable for commercial or residential development due to contaminated soil, a remnant of Park City’s mining era.
The DEQ will now complete a final report, and the city must create a site management plan to prevent any future exposure.
With the cleanup work nearly complete, Park City Manager Matt Dias said the city council can now consider projects for the Gordo parcel.
“The site is basically now ready for any type of redevelopment or repurposing that the community would desire,” Dias said. “That could even mean commercial or residential or public infrastructure. It could also remain in repose, it could be just a natural environment moving forward.”
No consensus has been reached, but the city council has discussed various ideas for the site, including parking, housing and a transit center.
