EPA digs a deeper hole on Gold King Mine reparations
“I really was hoping that this administration would (compensate farmers) because they seem to be a lot more friendly toward righting government wrongs, and I have really been disappointed that has not been the case.”
— Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye
On Aug. 5, 2015, a team from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency removed a dirt-and-rock plug from the Gold King Mine in southwest Colorado and dumped 3 million gallons of toxic wastewater, laden with more than 880,000 pounds of metals, into Four Corners waterways, including the Animas River. In 2017, government investigators revealed the EPA had no rules for working around old mines.
The EPA under President Barack Obama did accept responsibility for the spill, and Utah is seeking $1.9 billion, the Navajo Nation $162 million and New Mexico $130 million for cleanup costs. Hundreds of Navajo farmers and ranchers filed suit this month seeking compensation for their losses — everything from lost crops to dead livestock. And many residents and companies have filed claims seeking compensation for losses including fouled wells and loss of recreational outfitter income.
Yet the same EPA that took responsibility and encouraged those affected to file claims determined in January 2017 the law would not allow it to pay out. And now the EPA wants a federal court to toss that lawsuit from the states and Navajo Nation seeking repayment of cleanup costs. To date, there has not been claims payment to those affected by the EPA’s incompetence. In other words, too bad, so sad. It shouldn’t be a big surprise to anyone who has followed this orange-sludge drama flowing downstream from D.C.
In 2016, that same EPA claimed there was no reason to monitor river water quality for more than a year or to make sure it’s safe for more than recreation. That’s the same EPA that had no rules for working around old mines, then said its folks were up to that one-year monitoring task.
That same EPA had people filling out claim forms for 16 months to show how the aftermath of a toxic orange stew caused “loss of employment, loss of income, loss or damage to property, or other claims,” then said it couldn’t legally pay.
That same EPA prompted Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M., to introduce legislation in 2016 to help “expedite claims for parties injured as a result of the spill (as well as prevent) a clear conflict of interest by allowing the state, instead of the EPA, to carry out a long-term water quality monitoring plan.”
That same EPA prompted Gov. Susana Martinez to observe in 2017 that “if a private company had caused this massive environmental disaster, the EPA would have gone all-out to hold them accountable. But when the federal government dumps millions of gallons of toxic sludge into our rivers, they shirk their responsibility and leave it up to the states to mop up the mess they created.”
And that same EPA as recently as last year had its administrator say it would reconsider paying farmers, business owners and tribes for economic losses attributable to the spill. That’s right. Then-administrator Scott Pruitt said just last year, “I think the agency’s response to the Gold King spill … shirked its response to help compensate claimants that were injured.” He then sent letters telling people to resubmit claims because the “EPA should be held to the same standard as those we regulate. The previous administration failed those who counted on them to protect the environment.”
Yet now it is requesting the court dismiss lawsuits seeking cleanup reimbursement?
So much for the EPA digging out of its hole in public confidence.