EPA personnel and contractors were attempting to work on the tailing pond at the closed Gold King Mine when they accidentially caused the release of toxic wastewater near Silverton, Colorado August 5, 2015.
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McCarthy said a private company would likely not face fines for an accident that occurred during a cleanup similar to the one at the former Gold King Mine.
EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy called the spill caused by her agency “tragic and unfortunate” and said the EPA has taken responsibility to ensure that 3 million gallons of rust-colored sludge released into Colorado’s Animas River is cleaned up.
Democratic Senator Michael Bennet also testified, saying it’s important to contextualize the spill and take steps to prevent similar incidents.
McCarthy said the eyes of multiple experts and engineers were on the work plan being carried out August. 5 and the agency correctly followed notification requirements, but communication has room for improvement.
The proposal has been around for years, but it’s been stymied by concerns – largely from the environmental community – that the fix could lead to another accident or pave the way for modern mineral companies to re-mine the sites. John Boozman said. “Statements like ‘the water is healing itself, ‘ if an oil executive said that, people would have gone ballistic”.
“So this long after the spill, you’re still trying to determine who’s accountable for the spill?” “Otherwise what happens is there are no rules and there could be unintended consequences”.
“That was done very, very poorly”, he told McCarthy at a hearing conducted by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.
Udall and U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich want to reform the 1872 mining, changing it so mining companies pay royalties.
Money from these royalties then could be used to clean-up abandoned mines. But the first priority is Good Samaritan legislation that would effectively facilitate the cleanup process, which Gardner said he would undoubtedly support.
“The culture of distrust is just there, and [EPA] did it, they developed it”, he said. Ya know the one that polluted and contaminated several miles of fresh water river ways stretching from Colorado to Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico.
“Today, during our greatest time of need, with our people struggling for water for their animals, livestock and irrigation, the U.S. EPA has abandoned us”, Pres. Begaye said in his testimony. John Barrasso, R-Wyo.
“Has anyone been fired for nearly taking two days to notify the Navajo about the disaster?”
Witnesses testifying at the hearing included Mathy Stanislaus, assistant administrator at the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response with the EPA; Dennis Greaney, president of the Environmental Restoration LLCT; Donald Benn, executive director of the Navajo National Environmental Protection Agency; Dean Bookie, the mayor of Durango, Colorado; and Mark Williamson, a geochemist at Geochemical Solutions LLC.
The EPA has been taken to task for being slow to communicate about the spill with state and local officials, some of whom were not contacted until 24 hours after the incident happened.
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“Did we intend to be the one to trigger that?” she said.
