Cotter Corp claims it is running out of money and can’t post a bond to assure uranium mill cleanup in Cañon City

Coloradosun · May 27, 2026 · 1475 words · By Sue McMillin; Eric Lubbers

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What to know about Cotter Corp claims it is running out of money and can’t post a bond to assure uranium mill cleanup in Cañon City

CAÑON CITY — Amid an ongoing dispute over whether the Cotter Corp.

Claims checked 20

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center83%

Right17%

6 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

CAÑON CITY — Amid an ongoing dispute over whether the Cotter Corp.

Why it matters

must post a $4.7 million bond to ensure completion of risk assessment work at the Superfund site around its former uranium mill, Cotter claimed that it is running out of money.

Common ground

Talks about the company’s financial assets and liabilities are going on behind closed doors with the Environmental Protection Agency’s enforcement division, said Paul Stoick, EPA’s remedial project manager for the Lincoln Park Superfund Site.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: Cotter Corp claims it is running out of money and can’t post a bond to assure uranium mill cleanup in Cañon City?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that In 2002, the EPA declared that soil remediation in Lincoln Park was complete?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://coloradosun.com/2026/05/27/canon-city-uranium-cleanup-cotter-corp-money-…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 20 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

schedule Pending 10

check_circle Corroborated 6

help Insufficient Evidence 2

verified Verified 1

info Single Source 1

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Claim 1: “In 2002, the EPA declared that soil remediation in Lincoln Park was complete.”

CORROBORATED

Confirmed by a cross-reference (ColoradoSun), a web search result, and an official ATSDR document stating the EPA issued a Record of Decision in 2002 requiring 'No Further Action' for surface soils in Lincoln Park.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Ford Fusion Hybrid is a gasoline-electric hybrid powered version of the mid-sized Ford Fusion sedan manufactured and marketed by Ford across two generations. A plug-in hybrid version, the Ford Fus…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Fusion_Hybrid

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Ottawa is a city in LaSalle County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the confluence of the navigable Fox River and Illinois River, the latter being a conduit for river ba…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottawa,_Illinois

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Uranium mining in Colorado, United States, goes back to 1872, when pitchblende ore was taken from gold mines near Central City, Colorado. The Colorado uranium industry has seen booms and busts, but c…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uranium_mining_in_Colorado

+ 4 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 2: “Cotter is current on its EPA billing of $926,145 to cover EPA oversight costs, community meeting costs and technical assistance.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 3: “An April 21 ruling from EPA Region 8 Superfund & Emergency Management Division Director Aaron Urdiales states that Cotter is required to post the $4.7 million bond”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 4: “CDPHE put the bond money in a decommissioning fund, which is currently about $19 million.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 5: “CDPHE and the DRMS in 2023 recalled CLL’s bonds, $23 million and $7.3 million, respectively”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 6: “Cotter is listed as 100% owned by the defense contractor [General Atomics]”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

verified

Claim 7: “The EPA added the mill site and surrounding properties to the Superfund cleanup list in 1984.”

VERIFIED

Web search results explicitly state that the EPA added the mill site and surrounding properties to the Superfund list in 1984.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Coldwater Creek (also Cold Water Creek) is a 19-mile tributary of the Missouri River in north St. Louis County in the U.S. state of Missouri. It is known to be contaminated with radioactive wastes sev…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coldwater_Creek_(Missouri_rive…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of Superfund sites in the U.S. State of Colorado designated under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) environmental law. The CERC…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Superfund_sites_in_Col…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — West Lake Landfill is a closed, unlined mixed-waste landfill located in Bridgeton, Missouri. It was featured in the 2015 documentaries The First Secret City and The Safe Side of the Fence, and the 201…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Lake_Landfill

+ 3 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 8: “The Department of Energy estimates closure of the Superfund site in 2047”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 9: “Cotter Corp. must post a $4.7 million bond to ensure completion of risk assessment work at the Superfund site around its former uranium mill”

CORROBORATED

Multiple web search results confirm the dispute over a $4.7 million bond for risk assessment work at the Cotter Corp. Superfund site.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — CAÑON CITY — Amid an ongoing dispute over whether the Cotter Corp. must post a $4.7 million bond to ensure completion of risk assessment work at the Superfund site around its former uranium mill, Cott…
https://coloradosun.com/2026/05/27/canon-city-uranium-cleanu…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Cotter Corp. disputes cleanup bond for groundwater monitoring at Cañon City uranium mill site. After three months of informal negotiations on how to monitor contaminated groundwater in Lincoln Park, t…
https://wise-uranium.org/umopcc.html

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — There are seven steps a Superfund site must go through to be removed from the National Priority List of environmental disasters.The mill processed uranium intermittently until 2006. Cotter closed the …
https://phys.org/news/2023-10-years-colorado-longest-running…

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Claim 10: “It transferred the mill property and “related assets” to CLL along with $45 million”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results regarding the specific transfer of $45 million or 'related assets'.

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Claim 11: “In 2018, Cotter struck a deal with Colorado Legacy Land to take over the Superfund work as well as cleanup at the former Schwartzwalder uranium mine near Golden.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources confirm the 2018 deal where Cotter transferred Superfund work and the Schwartzwalder mine cleanup to Colorado Legacy Land (CLL).

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — After having acquired the Lincoln Park/Cotter Superfund Site just five years ago, Colorado Legacy Land [CLL] announced in February that it had declared ...
https://www.wise-uranium.org/udusacc.html

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Jan 31, 2018 ... Colorado officials are weighing whether to let Cotter Corp. operators of a defunct uranium mine west of Denver -- which has contaminated ...
https://www.denverpost.com/2018/01/31/cotter-corp-colorado-c…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — May 27, 2026 ... In 2018, Cotter struck a deal with Colorado Legacy Land ... Superfund work as well as cleanup at the former Schwartzwalder uranium mine near ...
https://coloradosun.com/2026/05/27/canon-city-uranium-cleanu…

help

Claim 12: “The radioactive materials license issued by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment also was transferred from Cotter to CLL.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results regarding the transfer of the CDPHE radioactive materials license.

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Claim 13: “in March 2023 the company [CLL] notified state officials that it was insolvent and would discontinue work.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 14: “The plan was rejected Feb. 28, 2023, by the EPA”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 15: “Cotter also has paid CDPHE $405,427 for oversight costs for fiscal year 2021 through 2025”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 16: “General Atomics acquired Cotter Corporation in 2000 from Commonwealth Edison”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 17: “The Cotter Corporation milled uranium at the 2,600-acre site 2 miles south of Cañon City and adjacent to the Fremont County community of Lincoln Park from 1958 to 2011.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent sources (news articles and web search) confirm the site size (2,600 acres), location (2 miles south of Cañon City, adjacent to Lincoln Park), and operation dates (1958 to 2011).

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Lincoln Park is a census-designated place (CDP) located in and governed by Fremont County, Colorado, United States. The CDP is a part of the Cañon City, CO Micropolitan Statistical Area. The populatio…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_Park,_Colorado

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Here is a list of notable people affiliated with Trinity College. It includes alumni, attendees, faculty, and presidents of the college.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Trinity_College_(Conne…

+ 3 more evidence sources

info

Claim 18: “about 5.3 million tons of radioactive waste is buried [in the impoundments]”

SINGLE SOURCE

Only one specific web search result mentions the 5.3 million tons figure in the context of moving contaminated soils into impoundments. Other sources discuss total tailings in the hundreds of millions, but not this specific figure for these impoundments.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — May 27, 2026 · He floated the idea of “targeted cleanup” on the mill site by moving known contaminated soils into the impoundments where about 5.3 million tons ...
https://coloradosun.com/2026/05/27/canon-city-uranium-cleanu…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — There are now about 175 million tons of tailings at the licensed mill sites. Of these, about 56 million tons were generated under government contracts. Most ...
https://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyPURL.cgi?Dockey=2000XSJ4.txt

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — impoundments containing approximately 160 million t of fine grained mill tailings which are up to. 70 m thick and contain 10 Bq/g Ra. Some of the ponds are ...
https://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/Publications/PDF/te_824_web.pd…

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Claim 19: “The mill operated until 2006 and shut down completely in 2011.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources confirm the mill processed uranium intermittently until 2006 and was closed permanently in 2011.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar, the 2006th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 6th year of the 3rd millennium and the 21st c…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The following is an overview of events in 2006, including the highest-grossing films, award ceremonies and festivals, a list of films released and notable deaths.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_in_film

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Fall is a 2006 adventure fantasy film produced, co-written, and directed by Tarsem Singh, and starring Lee Pace, Catinca Untaru, and Justine Waddell. It is based on the 1981 Bulgarian film Yo Ho H…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fall_(2006_film)

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 20: “In 2014, Cotter was ordered to conduct a remedial investigation and cleanup plan for the mill site under Superfund laws.”

CORROBORATED

Confirmed by both a cross-reference (ColoradoSun) and a web search result stating Cotter was ordered in 2014 to conduct a remedial investigation and cleanup plan.

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+ 4 more evidence sources

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.