CO / county FIPS 08105 / county research

Rio Grande County, Colorado: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Rio Grande County is 135.9 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 303 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (143), Industrial wastewater discharge (56), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (37). EPA AirToxScreen estimates a lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics of 10 in a million, driven mainly by formaldehyde.

Rates are age-adjusted per 100,000 people. A cancer signal is marked significant when the lower bound of its 95 percent confidence interval is above the U.S. rate. Facility counts use active federal records located inside the county boundary. Approximate county center: 37.6119, -106.3753.

How this county ranks in Colorado

View on the heat map Scan an address in this county

Cancer deaths and new cases versus the United States

Source: NCI and CDC State Cancer Profiles, both sexes, all ages. Sorted by the ratio of the county rate to the U.S. rate.

Cancer rates for Rio Grande County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
All cancer	Deaths	135.9	143.2	0.95x	111.6 to 164.6	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	385.5	453.4	0.85x	341.9 to 433.8	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	36.1	51.8	0.7x	24.7 to 51.9	2019-2023

Mortality measures versus the U.S. county median

Source: County Health Rankings, built from CDC National Vital Statistics System death records. The comparison value is the median of all U.S. counties.

Mortality measures for Rio Grande County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	14,090.6	9,842.6	+43%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	72.3	75.3	-4%	years
Child mortality	118.9	59.8	+99%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	n/a	6.2	n/a	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	143.2	96.9	+48%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	50	28.6	+75%	deaths per 100,000

Air toxics and air quality

EPA AirToxScreen 2020

Lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics: 10 in a million. EPA treats 100 in a million as the upper end of acceptable risk and 1 in a million as the goal.

Formaldehyde7.97 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.31 per million
Acetaldehyde0.56 per million
Pahpom0.35 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

No EPA air quality monitor reports daily AQI for this county.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

303 active records inside the county from EPA ECHO, TRI, Superfund, Brownfields, NPDES, EIA, FAA, FRA and corrections data.

Rail grade crossing143
Industrial wastewater discharge56
NPDES wastewater discharge permit37
Air permit holder (minor source)32
Brownfield property10
Gas station (mapped facility)9
Public airport3
Commercial airport2
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)2
Scrapyard (mapped facility)2
Major air pollution source1
Small hazardous waste generator1
Heliport1
Landfill (mapped facility)1
Solar power plant1
Superfund (NPL) site1
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)1

Highest-severity records

The 25 records with the highest Envyrofax severity in the county, with the agency identifier to cite in a records request.

Summitville Mine, Rio Grande County
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 50. NPL Site.
EPA site ID COD983778432 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Monte Vista City Of, Monte Vista
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $80,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000867143 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Center Sanitation Agricultural Wwtp, Center
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $54,960.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010053119 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Veterans Center Wwtf, Monte Vista
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $80,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010053743 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
San Luis Valley Regional Solid Waste Aut, Monte Vista
Major air pollution source. Penalties $10,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043283283 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Del Norte Wwtf, Del Norte
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009128354 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Sargent School District Wastewater, Rio Grande County
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041905329 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Astronaut Kent Rominger Airport, Del Norte
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110046292301 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Monte Vista Municipal Airport, Monte Vista
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110046330868 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
San Luis Valley Regional Landfill, Monte Vista
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064413460 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Monte Vista State Fish Hatchery, Monte Vista
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070258337 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Fun Valley Resort, South Fork
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006782188 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Aqua Ramone Club, Slouth Fork
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110062625440 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
South Fork Water & San Dist, South Fork
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071866736 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Del Norte Potato Growers Coop, Del Norte
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006782106 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Monte Vista Boys And Girls Club Property, Monte Vista
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038755772 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Montez Park, Monte Vista
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110044760700 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Palisades Gas Station, Palisades
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071967403 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
117 Adams Street, Monte Vista
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072114825 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
99 North Broadway Street - Boys And Girls Club, Monte Vista
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072114986 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
401 Ulysses Blvd - Whispering Pines Motel, Monte Vista
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072114987 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Monte Vista City Hall, Monte Vista
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072154633 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
0 Country Club Drive, Monte Vista
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072154634 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
137 Adams Street - Movie Theater, Monte Vista
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072154646 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Center Sanitation Agricultural Wwtp, Center
Industrial wastewater discharge. Significant/Category I Noncompliance.
NPDES permit CO0048938: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 3

Correctional facilities

Prisons, jails and corrections operations with an EPA facility record, and the drinking water and wastewater compliance attached to them.

No correctional facility with an EPA record is located in this county.

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Rio Grande County

Colorado state cancer registry
Cancer incidence counts by census tract or ZIP code, by cancer type and year (de-identified). Any cancer cluster inquiries or investigations in Rio Grande County, and their findings.
Colorado vital statistics office
Death certificate counts by cause of death and residence tract or ZIP code, and the years behind the mortality measures above.
Colorado health department, environmental epidemiology
Health consultations or assessments by ATSDR or the state health department covering the county, and any exposure investigations.
Colorado environmental agency and the U.S. EPA regional office
Compliance history, inspection reports, notices of violation, penalties and enforcement actions for each facility above, cited by EPA FRS registry ID.
Colorado drinking water program
Violation notices, sampling results and sanitary surveys for the public water systems serving the county, including any system serving a correctional facility.
Department of corrections or county sheriff
Water testing, grievances and environmental health inspections for the correctional facilities listed above.

Each Envyrofax address report includes a printable records request worksheet with the custodian and the exact request wording per finding.

Scan an address in Rio Grande County View on the heat map All Colorado counties