EPA knew of ‘blowout’ risk at Colorado mine
Papers show agency had minimal plan
WASHINGTON – U.S. officials knew of the potential for a catastrophic “blowout” of poisonous wastewater from an inactive gold mine, yet appeared to have only a cursory plan to deal with such an event when a government cleanup team triggered a 3-million-gallon spill, according to internal documents released by the Environmental Protection Agency.
The EPA released the documents late Friday following weeks of prodding from the Associated Press and other media organizations. While shedding some light on the circumstances surrounding the accident, the newly disclosed information also raises more questions about whether enough was done to prevent it.
The Aug. 5 spill came as workers excavated the entrance to the idled Gold King Mine near Silverton, Colorado, unleashing a torrent of toxic water that fouled rivers in three states.
A June 2014 work order for a planned cleanup noted the mine had not been accessible since 1995, when the entrance partially collapsed.
“This condition has likely caused impounding of water behind the collapse,” the report said. “Conditions may exist that could result in a blowout of the blockages and cause a release of large volumes of contaminated mine waters and sediment from inside the mine.”
A May 2015 action plan produced by an EPA contractor, Environmental Restoration LLC, also noted the potential for a blowout. It was not clear what additional precautions were taken to prepare for such a release.
Much of the documents was redacted. Among the items blacked out was a line specifying whether workers were required to have phones that could work at the remote site, at an elevation of 11,000 feet.
A 71-page safety plan for the site included only a few lines describing what to do if there was a spill: Locate the source and stop the flow, begin containment and recovery of the spilled materials, and alert downstream drinking water systems as needed.
EPA spokesman David Gray said Saturday that the work order outlined steps that should have been followed, but he did not directly address whether those steps were followed, citing ongoing investigations into the accident.
Colorado Attorney General Cynthia Coffman said after reviewing the documents that she remained frustrated with the EPA’s lack of answers.
“The plan indicates there was an understanding of what might happen and what the potential consequences were. We don’t know whether they followed the plan,” Coffman told the Associated Press. “I want to give the EPA the benefit of the doubt here. I really want to do that. It’s getting harder.”
The wastewater flowed into a tributary of the Animas and San Juan rivers, turning them a sickly yellow-orange color and tainting them with lead, arsenic, thallium and other heavy metals that can cause health problems and harm aquatic life. The toxic plume traveled roughly 300 miles through Colorado, New Mexico and Utah, to Lake Powell on the Arizona-Utah border.