Many people across the political spectrum endorse some version of conspiracy theory. But they continued to provide welcome financial support to the area, so the mining industry continued until the 1990s.
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It would be shortsighted if the accidental release of toxic mine waste in Colorado goes no further than another round of bashing the Environmental Protection Agency.
Hennis says he has been warning the public for more than a decade about what he felt were hazardous conditions at a neighboring mine.
For example, the Old Forge Borehole in Duryea discharges roughly 60 million gallons per day into the Lackawanna River, 20 times the volume of the Colorado spill.
Next, cleaning up an abandoned mine is hard, risky, and expensive. Authorities now spend $5 million a year to remove poisons, and expect to keep at it forever. However, problematic sites do exist in the Gunnison National Forest. They hope to complete the purchase this fall, he said.
EPA crews accidentally caused the blowout earlier this month while excavating the entrance to the vacant Gold King Mine. It flowed into Cement Creek, poisoning that once-fertile waterway, and, from there, into the Animas.
EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy, in a press conference held August 13 on the banks of the San Juan River, tried to ease worries about the form. Communities may now reassess the dangers of the potential stigma of a Superfund designation in light of the flood of publicity that has attended the orange plume descending the Animas and San Juan Rivers.
McCarthy said she was absolutely, deeply sorry. But as others have pointed out, there are various reasons cleanup at this and other sites has been complicated.
The Colorado spill is extremely unusual.
Heavy metals, including copper, iron, cadmium and manganese, come from mining gold deep in the Colorado mountains. Still, they urged people to avoid contact with discoloration in sediment or river water.
Federal decision-makers should consider this damage as they decide whether to permit a host of massive mine projects around critical water bodies. For the Lackawanna, mine drainage joins urban stormwater runoff and combined sewer overflows as causes for the river’s continued impairment.
“It is a reminder of the importance of clean water in our rivers and streams”, she said. The agency says its data shows “levels of contamination are below what would be a concern for human health during typical recreational exposure”. “We sell the wool; we sell the cattle every year”. And the question on most of our minds is how on earth was this allowed to happen?
“It’s the kind of thing where there’s so many issues”, he said. “We’re just scratching the surface”. “Even though the water looks clear, it is loaded”, Bruce Stove, director of Colorado’s abandoned mines reclamation program, told the newspaper.
“It will not be fixed”, he said. Indeed, the U.S. economy has grown over the last few decades even while the EPA “rulebook” has grown thicker.
Irrigation ditches that draw from the river were being flushed, and farmers were advised to continue to refrain from using that water for crops and livestock. Many sections of the river supports enough wild, naturally reproducing trout to support sport fishing without stocking.
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As long as mining is governed by a 143-year-old law, funds to clean up Gold King and other mines like it will remain severely limited, and safe drinking water that people depend on across the West will be at risk.
