Head of EPA says agency will be fully accountable for toxic spill
Amid growing concern over the federal government’s slow response to a massive wastewater spill in southwestern Colorado, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency held a press conference in Durango Wednesday, saying the EPA will be fully transparent and accountable for the mistake.
The EPA said the spill occurred Aug. 5 when one of its teams was using heavy equipment to enter the Gold King Mine, a suspended mine north of Durango.
Instead of entering the mine and beginning the process of pumping and treating the contaminated water inside as planned, the team accidentally caused at least three million gallons of mine waste to flow into the nearby Animas River and downstream to other states, turning the river a mustard-orange color.
The EPA’s slow response angered local and state officials as well as farmers, native Americans and others who live near the river.
EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy said the EPA will work with state leaders to ensure the cleanup and remediation is done properly.
“We are working hand-in-hand with them to expedite this review, to expedite hopefully a return to some sense of normalcy in sense of the uses of this river, but as always we’re going to let science be our guide,” McCarthy said.
Water treatment facilities in Durango stopped using water from the river after the spill, which contained heavy metals including arsenic and lead. McCarthy said Wednesday, new water toxicity tests conducted by the EPA show the water is back to “pre-event conditions.”
“As you probably know, the EPA’s mission is to protect public health and the environment,” McCarthy said. “No agency could be more upset about the incident happening, or more dedicated in terms of doing our job in getting this right.”
McCarthy said the agency will conduct an internal review and an independent investigation to determine what factors led to the spill.
Attorneys general from Colorado and the neighboring states of New Mexico and Utah also met in Durango Wednesday to assess the situation and any legal implications.
Colorado Attorney General Cynthia Coffman told KRDO NewsChannel 13 that while a lawsuit against the EPA is not off the table, it’s too soon to say if it would happen.
“I think everyone wants to see EPA do the right thing and I think we should give them the opportunity to do that,” Coffman said. “I and my other AG colleagues want to assure the EPA, and whomever is doing cleanup, is accountable to the people in the state and makes people here and downstream whole. My role as attorney general is to ensure accountability and, certainly, unfortunately, reality of our world is sometimes litigation assures that.”
It’s unclear when the Animas River could reopen to people in the area.
