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San Miguel County, Colorado: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in San Miguel County is 99.1 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 161 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Industrial wastewater discharge (52), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (44), Air permit holder (minor source) (39). 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: 37.9645, -108.4124.

How this county ranks in Colorado

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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 San Miguel County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	44	23.8	1.85xSignificant	26.1 to 70.4	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	323.1	453.4	0.71x	270.4 to 383.8	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	99.1	143.2	0.69x	69.6 to 137.5	2020-2024

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 San Miguel County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	5,934.6	9,842.6	-40%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	86.5	75.3	+15%	years
Child mortality	n/a	59.8	n/a	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	96.2	96.9	-1%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	n/a	28.6	n/a	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.

Formaldehyde7.41 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.17 per million
Acetaldehyde0.45 per million
Pahpom0.4 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 365 days: 303 good, 0 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 36, peak 94.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Industrial wastewater discharge52
NPDES wastewater discharge permit44
Air permit holder (minor source)39
Brownfield property12
Gas station (mapped facility)4
Heliport4
EPA air quality monitor2
Public airport1
Commercial airport1
Small hazardous waste generator1
Hydroelectric plant1

Highest-severity records

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

Telluride Regional Wwtf, Telluride
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064641375 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Patara Midstream Llc - Andys Mesa Gas Plant, Egnar
Air permit holder (minor source). Penalties $77,700.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043814931 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Telluride Rgnl, Telluride
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID TEX (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 5
Silver Bell Tailings, Ophir
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022833497 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Tjh Stone Quarry 1, Dry Creek
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070063545 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Illium Valley Wwtf, Telluride
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071097395 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Norwood Sanitation District, Norwood
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010055796 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Fall Creek Village Hoa, Placerville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071202797 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Telluride Town Of, Telluride
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006658250 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Still Well Wtf, San Miguel County
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110024383175 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Bivvi Hostel, Placerville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071321033 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Madison, Unincorporated Ouray County
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038706102 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Keystone, Unincorporated Ouray County
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038707922 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Lizard, Unincorporated Ouray County
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038707986 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Mobil Station, Norwood
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038763273 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Badger, Unincorporated Ouray County
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110060752314 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Angell Lode Llc, Placerville
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071971570 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
1130 Market Street, Norwood
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071977853 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
1105 Grand Avenue, Norwood
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071977854 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
1590 Grand Avenue, Norwood
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071977855 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Vacant Lot, Norwood
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071977856 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Sawpit Mercantile, Placerville
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072114894 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
120 Front Street, Placerville
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072114911 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Last Dollar Wwtf, San Miguel County
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022455458 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Disappointment Valle Pit, Egnar
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071867696 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
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 San Miguel 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 San Miguel 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.

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