Local groups could keep mine waste out of rivers like the Animas if not for this legislative roadblock
By now, you’ve probably seen reports of the mine accident in Colorado and the disturbing images of the Animas River turned yellow by the release of 3 million gallons of water contaminated with mine wastes. This occurred after an EPA-supervised cleanup crew accidentally breached a debris dam inside the Gold King Mine near Silverton, Colorado, last Wednesday.
As far as we know, there haven’t been reports of fish die-offs or drinking water contamination, and the river is starting to return to normal. The county has requested that the agency assist with analysis of the impacts to fish and wildlife, and outdoor recreation businesses are waiting for the all-clear to regain safe access to the Animas—we’ll be closely tracking news on all of this.
A great deal of blame has been directed at EPA—and deservedly so. Without question, there needs to be a full review of what went wrong and those responsible should be held accountable so this doesn’t happen again.
But we shouldn’t forget that while EPA may have caused this release, it didn’t create the pollution.
Our best estimate is that there are at least 161,000 abandoned mines, like the Gold King Mine, across the West. They are the dirty legacy of past mining booms that helped settle the region. The mines don’t just pollute our waterways after accidents; they are constantly leaking water polluted with heavy metals into rivers and streams—some at a trickle, and others at hundreds of gallons per minute. These mines were excavated prior to the creation of modern environmental laws that help ensure responsible mining practices, and there is no one to be held responsible for them now.
Federal agencies have stepped in to deal with the mess. Between 1997 and 2008, the EPA, the Bureau of Land Management, and the Forest Service spent $2.6 billion on abandoned mine cleanup, with EPA contributing the lion’s share ($2.2 billion).
Many other groups, like Trout Unlimited, want to help. TU wants to return fish to stretches of river so polluted by abandoned mines that they can no long support life, while watershed organizations want to revitalize their communities and boost their outdoor recreation economies and mining companies want to be good neighbors in the areas they operate. These good Samaritan and volunteer groups are stymied by provisions in environmental laws that would force them to be responsible for the entirety of an abandoned mine’s pollution should they even attempt a cleanup. That is a financial and technical burden that is impossible to bear. As a result, they can’t help clean up the worst of the pollution.
My former boss, Sen. Mark Udall (CO), repeatedly introduced legislation to fix this roadblock, and the time has come for other Western lawmakers to take up the cause and unleash the power of well-meaning groups to help clean up the West’s abandoned mines. As proven in the Gold King Mine incident, we can’t afford to leave anyone on the sidelines if they want to help.
Trout Unlimited has been fighting for years to address the problems of mine pollution in the West. To learn more about the abandoned mine problem and how to take action, go to sanjuancleanwater.org.
The EPA had been trying since 1980 to have this mine site declared a Superfund Site so they could properly clean it up. Stupidly, the local tourism industry opposed this, claiming a superfund declaration would keep tourists away and the mining industry opposed it as well. Their efforts were effective and the mine continued discharging toxic waste. That an EPA contractor screwed up is beyond question. But I get really tired of conservatives bad mouthing the EPA and Republicans calling for its dissolution then whining when it doesn’t clean up a toxic disaster created by the oil, mining or chemical industry well enough or fast enough. Using tax payers money by the way.
EPA should pay a “FINE” just like everyone ealse. They are “NOT” above the law of the land…
I spent nearly 20-years with the Superfund program and was a member of the national mining team. On several occasions I reviewed proposed “good Samaritan” legislation. Some originating with the minerals industry and some from environmental groups. Generally the proposed bills had the same weaknesses. First, no one wanted to take responsibility if their efforts made the situation worse. As demonstrated on the Animas that is not unexpected. The mines are not simple tunnels they are complexes (largely unmapped and poorly documented) of shafts, ventilation and drainage shafts, unstable waste piles that are on both public and private land, any and all of which may be laden with toxic metals and sometimes left over mercury and explosives. Dealing with the sites requires engineering and finances that none of the bills required. The industry proposals did not want to pay for removal or containment of the mine wastes they wanted to reprocess. If you want to do something significant about the damage caused by mining work on requiring adequate secure financial assurances because the mines operating and proposed today are free standing companies whose stock is held by investors. When the mines cease to be profitable, or incur significant liability through releases of hazardous substances or other accidents they declare bankruptcy. EPA’s bigger failure than the Animas has been their failure for almost 30-years to issue the financial assurance rules called for in CERCLA section 108(B).
Please watch this informative 12 minute video titled: “Act of Congress: Good Samaritans & Draining Mines 2014 by Tom Schillaci, Producer: https://youtu.be/XkjFdgshv1Y
Thanks for the informative video. I did not know about this problem before the recent disaster on the Animas. Are any of the mining companies that originally worked these mines still around? I saw the part where the senator (?) was saying that may of these mines and mining companies were around before modern mining regulations were enacted and are “exempt” from liability.
Not all mines are equal.
The abandoned mines to which you refer are almost all hard rock mines, gold, copper etc. It is important to be clear that these are NOT coal mines. All coal mines currently operating are subject to bonding requirements, bonds that are not released until at least 10 years after state and federal authorities have determined that reclamation has been completed to their rigorous standards. Further, current coal miners pay Abandoned Mine fees on every ton of coal they mine that goes specifically to fund reclamation of old abandoned coal mines.
So be clear. These are not coal mines. Reclaimed coal mines in the West typically have higher quality flora than before mining and exhibit rich and diverse fauna.