Gardner Applauds EPA Decision to Elevate Bonita Peak Mining District as a Priority Superfund Site
Designation Includes Gold King Mine Area
Washington, D.C. – Senator Cory Gardner (R-CO) released the below statement applauding the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) decision to list the Bonita Peak mining district as a top priority superfund cleanup site.
Secretary Pruitt assured me when I met with him before his confirmation and when we visited the site in August that the EPA would make the right decision for the people of Southwest Colorado, and I appreciate his agency following through on their promise. The Gold King mine spill has had a significant impact on our state and there will continue to be a lot of work done by our elected officials and community. This latest commitment to the Bonita Peak Mining District along with continued attention to Pueblo cleanup actions are important steps in the progress that needs to be made by the EPA at both locations. — Gardner said
Gardner, along with his colleagues in the Colorado Congressional delegation, has been working since the Gold King Mine spill occurred in 2015 to make sure Southwest Colorado has the necessary resources to clean up abandoned mines and prevent a similar catastrophe from happening in the future. Before voting to confirm Scott Pruitt as EPA Administrator, Gardner secured a commitment from Pruitt to work together to address the continued fallout from the Gold King Mine spill. In March, Gardner invited EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt to visit Southwest Colorado to hear from Coloradans regarding the Gold King Mine spill.
According to the EPA, the Bonita Peak Mining District (BPMD) became a Superfund site on Sept. 9, 2016, when it was added to the National Priorities List. The site consists of historic and ongoing releases from mining operations in three drainages: Mineral Creek, Cement Creek and Upper Animas, which converge into the Animas River near Silverton, Colorado. The site includes 35 mines, seven tunnels, four tailings impoundments and two study areas where additional information is needed to evaluate environmental concerns.
On Aug. 4, 2017, EPA chief Scott Pruitt, U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton, R-Cortez, and Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper toured the Gold King Mine near Silverton – Check out footage from the tour now, courtesy of The Denver Post.
Video credit: The Denver Post August 4, 2017
What happened exactly?
The 2015 Gold King Mine waste water spill was an environmental disaster that began at the Gold King Mine near Silverton, Colorado, when EPA personnel, along with workers for Environmental Restoration LLC (a Missouri company under EPA contract to mitigate pollutants from the closed mine), caused the release of toxic waste water into the Animas River watershed. They caused the accident while attempting to drain ponded water near the entrance of the mine on August 5. After the spill, the Silverton Board of Trustees and the San Juan County Commission approved a joint resolution seeking Superfund money.
Contractors accidentally destroyed the plug holding water trapped inside the mine, which caused an overflow of the pond, spilling three million US gallons (11 ML) of mine waste water and tailings, including heavy metals such as cadmium and lead, and other toxic elements, such as arsenic, beryllium, zinc, iron and copper into Cement Creek, a tributary of the Animas River in Colorado. The EPA was criticized for not warning Colorado and New Mexico about the operation until the day after the waste water spilled, despite the fact the EPA employee “in charge of Gold King Mine knew of blowout risk.”
The EPA has taken responsibility for the incident, but originally refused to pay for any damages claims filed after the accident on grounds of sovereign immunity, pending special authorization from Congress or re-filing of lawsuits in federal court. Governor of Colorado John Hickenlooper declared the affected area a disaster zone. The spill affects waterways of municipalities in the states of Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah, as well as the Navajo Nation. As of August 11, 2015, acidic water continued to spill at a rate of 500–700 US gal/min (1.9–2.6 m3/min) while remediation efforts were underway. — Wikipedia
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