The FBI Agent Who Raided Rocky Flats Never Stopped Asking Questions

Long after the FBI's historic 1989 raid on the Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant, the agent who helped lead that investigation was still asking questions about what happened there—and whether the land surrounding the former plant should be opened to the public.

In its May 2016 feature “Rogue Agent,” 5280 magazine profiled former FBI special agent Jon Lipsky and examined his continuing involvement with Rocky Flats nearly three decades after the raid.

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The Investigation That Changed Rocky Flats

Lipsky was an FBI environmental-crimes investigator when information about hazardous-waste practices at Rocky Flats began drawing his attention in the late 1980s.

After more than a year of investigation, federal agents obtained a search warrant alleging violations of environmental laws at the plant. In June 1989, FBI and EPA investigators entered Rocky Flats in what 5280 described as the first FBI raid of another federal agency.

A federal special grand jury was later convened. The investigation ultimately ended with plant contractor Rockwell International pleading guilty to environmental crimes and paying an $18.5 million fine. No individuals were charged.

For Lipsky, the outcome left important questions unresolved. He later told 5280 that he believed the investigation had been stopped before it was complete.

From FBI Agent to Rocky Flats Advocate

Lipsky retired from the FBI in 2004, but Rocky Flats continued to occupy his attention.

He searched historical archives, shared documents with researchers and advocates, spoke publicly about the investigation, opposed proposed controlled burns at the site, and argued against opening the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge to unrestricted public recreation.

At the time the 5280 article was published, the refuge was preparing for expanded public access. Lipsky argued that additional independent soil and air sampling should occur before visitors were allowed onto the property.

His position was straightforward: he did not believe existing information was sufficient to establish that the refuge was safe for unrestricted public use.

A Continuing Disagreement Over Risk

The 5280 article also documented strong disagreement with Lipsky's conclusions.

Colorado public-health official Carl Spreng told the magazine that extensive sampling and studies showed extremely low health risks at the refuge. Government agencies maintained that remaining plutonium concentrations were below regulatory standards established for the site.

David Abelson of the Rocky Flats Stewardship Council questioned Lipsky's understanding of conditions following the cleanup. Even William Smith, Lipsky's former EPA investigative partner, disagreed with some of Lipsky's conclusions about what investigators had found during the criminal investigation.

The article therefore captures something that continues to define Rocky Flats: people looking at the same history and records can reach very different conclusions about what those records mean for the present.

Questions Beyond the Cleanup

The story also highlights research by chemist Michael Ketterer, who had measured plutonium in soil around Rocky Flats and found levels above global background in areas near the site. Ketterer told 5280 that the isotopic signature allowed him to identify Rocky Flats as the source of that plutonium.

At the same time, government officials emphasized that measured concentrations within the refuge remained below cleanup standards and said the site had been extensively evaluated.

That distinction matters.

Finding plutonium attributable to Rocky Flats is not the same as establishing that present-day use of the refuge will cause illness. But the presence, distribution and monitoring of residual contamination remain important parts of the public discussion.

Why This Story Still Matters

“Rogue Agent” is valuable because it connects several major chapters of the Rocky Flats story: environmental violations, the FBI raid, the Grand Jury investigation, cleanup, archival records, development near the site and the debate over public recreation.

It also preserves the perspective of an investigator who was inside one of the most consequential events in Rocky Flats history—and who remained unconvinced that the questions raised by that investigation had been fully resolved.

Rocky Flats Downwinders believes those different perspectives belong in the public record.

Understanding Rocky Flats means looking not only at what government agencies concluded, but also at the investigators, scientists, journalists, workers and community members who have continued to question, document and examine what happened there.

The goal is not to ask visitors to accept one person's conclusion.

It is to make sure the history—and the questions it produced—remain visible.

Original reporting: 5280 Magazine, May 2016 — “Rogue Agent,” by Quentin Young.