Reversing decades of opposition, Silverton and San Juan County leaders voted Monday to ask the state to pursue a Superfund cleanup of the Gold King and 45 other inactive mines contaminating headwaters of the Animas River.
Local leaders also are lining up Gov. John Hickenlooper and Sen. Michael Bennet as backup for dealing with the Environmental Protection Agency.
The EPA would be doing the cleanup — the same agency that in August botched work at the Gold King and set off a 3 million-gallon mustard-hued deluge of heavy-metals-laden acid mine drainage.
“In case a concession isn’t made, they’ve got our back. The governor and congressional delegation can definitely help us out by talking with the EPA at a higher level,” San Juan County Commissioner Scott Fetchenhier said.
And local officials are demanding the EPA continue running a temporary water treatment plant above Silverton to reduce contamination until a final cleanup is done. Superfund cleanups typically take longer than a decade, depending partly on congressional funding.
“I was not in favor of Superfund. I still don’t like it. But if we don’t do it, it will be done for us,” Commissioner Ernie Kuhlman told 90 or so residents packing Silverton’s Town Hall before the vote.
“If we don’t make this move, they will, and we won’t have a seat at the table.”
Silverton’s seven town trustees and San Juan County’s three commissioners voted unanimously to send a letter to Hickenlooper urging him to ask the EPA to designate a “Bonita Peak Mining District” environmental disaster — the first step toward a Superfund cleanup.
For years, Silverton and county officials have resisted EPA efforts to use Superfund to deal with one of the West’s worst clusters of toxic mines, which contaminate headwaters of major Western rivers. They’ve fought federal control, which results when an environmental disaster is declared, and contend the designation will hurt the tourism Silverton relies on economically now that mining jobs have moved elsewhere.
Hickenlooper was traveling and not immediately available for comment, a spokeswoman said. He has said he would support local wishes fully if there’s a consensus for embarking on a Superfund cleanup.
Bennet issued a statement vowing to take up local concerns.
“Hundreds of abandoned mines in Colorado are polluting our waters, endangering the health of Coloradans and holding back local economies. Cleaning up this pollution and protecting people in the region is a priority for Silverton and San Juan County,” Bennet said.
“A Superfund designation will help expedite the cleanup efforts. We will continue to work closely with local and state officials to ensure the community’s remaining concerns about implementation are taken into consideration throughout this process. We will also push for funding as soon as possible to ensure that the cleanup proceeds quickly.”
EPA officials recently asked Hickenlooper to let them know by Feb. 29 whether Colorado supports a proposed disaster designation covering 46 inactive mine sites — including the Gold King — along the Animas headwaters.
In August, an EPA crew working at the Gold King Mine — one of thousands statewide contaminating waterways — set off the toxic deluge that oozed into three states and tribal land. EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy accepted responsibility.
Silverton and San Juan County officials negotiated with the EPA to limit the scope of a disaster designation — excluding the town of Silverton — but still worry about the extent to which they’d have a voice in decision-making.
The locals are pressing the EPA to commit to running a temporary water treatment plant above Silverton until a final cleanup is done and perhaps install another plant.
The EPA put in the plant to remove millions of tons of metals sludge still draining from the Gold King, although not from other nearby mines.
Silverton officials say they want the EPA to treat waste from those mines, too, during a multiyear Superfund process.
EPA officials on Monday night did not respond to Denver Post requests for comment.
Bruce Finley: 303-954-1700, bfinley@denverpost.com or @finleybruce
