La Plata County and San Juan Basin Public Health submitted letters to the Environmental Protection Agency this week requesting more reimbursements for costs related to the Gold King Mine spill.

Last spring, the agency told county commissioners and other officials that reimbursements would not cover costs past Oct. 31, 2015, but local governments protested the date was arbitrary and remediation extended beyond that date.

Wednesday was the deadline to file appeals.

Addressed to Richard Buhl, EPA Region 8’s dispute decision official, the health department and county asked the agency to take responsibility for more spill-related expenses.

“The argument of timing is not a factor,” said Brian Devine, environmental health specialist at the health department. “They (the EPA) have continued to refer to the incident as ‘ongoing’ past the Oct. 31 date, and they’ve continued to work with us past that date.”

For months after the Aug. 5, 2015, spill, for which the EPA took responsibility, local governments and agencies, including the health department, incurred costs for extra staff time, appealing and planning for Superfund designation and monitoring river water quality.

The EPA reimbursed some costs – including more than $375,000 for the county and about $78,000 for the health department.

The health department quoted nearly $14,000 in additional costs that the EPA disallowed. Staff calculates the EPA owes the county about $29,000.

The EPA “denied the majority of personnel costs and costs for meals incurred by La Plata County after Oct. 31, 2015,” the county’s letter reads. “Simply put, the EPA cannot disallow an otherwise allowable, reasonable and allocable cost based upon an arbitrary deadline.”

The city of Durango chose not to file an appeal to maintain good relations with the EPA, City Manager Ron LeBlanc said in January. The EPA reimbursed about $55,400 of the city’s $444,000 request.

The EPA has not said when it will respond to appeals.

jpace@durangoherald.com