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Moving forward

Joint resolution is fundamental shift toward comprehensive mine fix

The complex regulatory, geologic and political environment that set the stage for the Gold King Mine blowout on Aug. 5 caused fingers to point left and right when an EPA work crew triggered the spill. There is plenty of blame to assume: mining activity – regulated, conducted and remediated improperly – contributed, as did a decades-long reluctance in Silverton to accept a comprehensive federal cleanup program with the Superfund label – particularly without guarantee of the funding necessary for a full-scale remediation. The EPA itself is certainly culpable for its mistakes in unleashing the 3 million gallons of metal-laden water – and not communicating the spill anywhere close to adequately. And Mother Nature had quite a bit to do with depositing the minerals of concern in the Silverton caldera in the first place. In a joint resolution passed Monday, Silverton and San Juan County acknowledge all that – and called for help with a long-term solution. It was a tectonic shift that could produce welcome results.

In their plea for immediate federal disaster-relief funds, the town and county first acknowledged their critical role as upstream neighbors to a multi-state and multi-tribe community that relies on the Animas River for domestic, agricultural and recreational water, as well as for aquatic life. “This problem is in our district and we feel we bear a greater responsibility to our downstream neighbors to help find a solution to the problem of leaking mines,” the resolution says. That ownership is essential to negotiating such a solution, and Silverton and San Juan County have committed themselves to a collaborative effort in that regard.

Silverton, San Juan County and those downstream partners – along with experts in mine and water engineering and mitigation, geology and water quality, as well as decision-makers at the local, state and federal levels – have a strategy for a comprehensive cleanup. A water-treatment plant to capture and clean mine drainage is the first and most costly step – both for construction and long-term maintenance and operation. The Gold King spill makes clear the need for this facility, and in seeking immediate federal dollars – in whatever form they arrive, Superfund or otherwise – Silverton and San Juan County are taking the appropriate and necessary lead in advocating for their environmental and economic health and that of communities downstream. Further, the town and county acknowledge that a comprehensive cleanup effort goes beyond a treatment facility, and must include removing the many mine-waste dumps that dot the drainage above Animas River watershed, creating potential hazards. To inform any of these remediation steps, Silverton and San Juan County recognized that sound science is essential: both that which exists from the Animas River Stakeholders Group’s vast body of knowledge and from other researchers, as well as studies not yet conducted.

In acknowledging their ownership of the mine-leakage problem and proposing a reasoned, reasonable and attainable fix, Silverton and San Juan County have shifted the post-Gold King spill conversation from one of blame to one of action. They have, in turn, shifted their respective roles from reluctant – and occasionally obstructive – participants in a regional problem to leaders at the helm of an opportunity to finally fix it. That shift could not have come without letting go of fear about labels and potential unknown consequences, and turning toward the comprehensive solutions that are within reach. They cannot be seized, though, without significant investment from the federal government – which must do its part by providing immediate resources to start the effort. There are many funding partners to follow, but the work must begin now.



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