Attorney General Cynthia Coffman weighs in.

Colorado, Utah, New Mexico consider seeking damages

durango» The attorneys general of Colorado, New Mexico and Utah said Wednesday that a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency is an option in the wake of a massive mine wastewater spill caused by the agency.

All three, however, agreed that it’s too early to say if they will sue.

“I would hope that it would not be necessary,” Colorado’s Cynthia Coffman, a Republican, said of a lawsuit in an interview with The Denver Post. “The statements by the (EPA’s administrator) indicate the EPA is accepting responsibility for the accident. The question is: What does that mean?”

Coffman met Wednesday with her counterparts from New Mexico, Democrat Hector Balderas, and Utah, Republican Sean Reyes, in Durango to discuss options and any legal response to the catastrophe. While the 3 million-gallon spill began in the Animas River in Colorado, contaminants have flowed into all three states.

The attorneys general met as EPA chief Gina McCarthy visited Durango on Wednesday. She is set to appear in Farmington, N.M. , on Thursday.

“Some of (McCarthy’s statements) were not direct, were not transparent,” Coffman said.

The wastewater spilled into the Animas on Aug. 5 after it was released by the EPA at the Gold King Mine near Silverton.

The attorneys general said their goal is to make sure the people they represent are adequately reimbursed and cared for in the spill’s wake.

The three said they have reached out to legal representation for the Navajo Nation and the Southern Utes, who were also in the path of the contaminated water.

Many residents in the path of the toxic spill have called for legal action against the EPA, including businesses hurt when the river they rely on was closed by authorities.

“It’s a crime scene,” said Ginny Brown, who has lived in Durango for more than two decades.

Roger Zalneraitis, who heads up La Plata County’s economic development alliance, said he was reassured by what Coffman said.

“This has happened to the river before,” he said. “We are going to come back a better city and region.”