Frustration for failing to meet a Jan. 31 deadline to be considered for a Superfund listing this spring was evident Tuesday night in Silverton, but the town’s hired attorneys assured elected officials negotiations have not derailed.
Meetings early this week were supposed to lead up to a Thursday decision on whether Silverton Town trustees and San Juan County commissioners would direct Gov. John Hickenlooper to request Superfund status for the mining network north of town responsible for degraded water quality in the Animas River.
Instead, that vote was canceled Monday, and a Town Hall hearing on Tuesday saw much of the same rhetoric in meetings past: the need for more information.
Jeff Robbins and Paul Sunderland, attorneys representing the town of Silverton in Superfund negotiations, chalked up the delay to the Environmental Protection Agency’s slow-moving bureaucracy.
“We’ve given them our position,” Sunderland said. “The ball is now in the EPA’s court.”
Three points of contention stand between federal intervention on the mines loading heavy metals into the Animas watershed: the actual boundaries of the Superfund, a reimbursement for costs associated with the Gold King Mine blowout, and an assurance local entities will have a say in future decision-making.
Robbins said the chance of making the EPA’s March review of Superfund sites is “very much still in play,” but the process is solely contingent on hearing back from the federal agency on the unsettled terms.
But the conversation Tuesday descended into a sort of self-reflection of the past months flirtation with the EPA’s hazardous-cleanup program as early signs of frustration begin to show, illustrated by one Silverton resident’s simple question: “Why Superfund?”
San Juan County Commissioner Ernie Kuhlam said pressure from downstream users, intensified by a lack of other cleanup options, has put town and county officials’ back to the wall.
“(Downstream users) said if you don’t do something then we will, and that’s going to leave you without a seat at the table,” Kuhlman said. “That’s why we got involved.”
Silverton Town Trustee Malcom MacDougall countered “It’s because the people want the water to be clean. And we are human beings, and by God we can do it.”
The importance of a “seat at the table” was a reoccuring theme Tuesday. Sunderland said community involvement in past Superfund sites is not common, but because of the unique situation wherein the EPA triggered a blowout, he’s betting it can be done that way.
“My hope is, because our requests have been reasonable, we’re going to get the green light from them as soon as they get those approvals.”
However, there’s no denying inflexible EPA policies that mandate the federal agency is the final decision-maker. One resident said an acknowledgement Silverton has a say may sound nice on paper but takes on a different tone in practice.
“We’re trying to be creative in terms of how you meet the needs of the community while understanding the Superfund constraints that exist,” Robbins said.
San Juan County Commissioner Scott Fetchenheir, who represents the county in Superfund talks, said there has been some “give and take” between the EPA, state and local officials.
“They want to include more than I thought,” he said.
Originally, the EPA expressed an interest in treating mines discharging into Cement Creek and the vicinity around Gold King Mine. However, the federal agency now wants to investigate other polluting sites in Mineral Creek and the Upper Animas.
“Their scientists are saying you need to look at all the drainages,” said Robbins, adding the EPA vowed no Superfund designation would include properties within town limits.
Robbins expects to know whether a Superfund vote for a March consideration will be possible within the next two weeks.
“I think it’s premature to say right now, ‘there’s something out there that’s going to derail it’ because it’s not done,” he said. “We haven’t presented to the elected officials what the overall package would look like.”
La Plata County commissioners approved a resolution supporting Superfund on Tuesday, and the Durango City Council did the same last week. If the town of Silverton misses the March consideration, the next period of review is in September.
“It’s not as quick as anybody would like it to be,” Robbins said. “It’s a problem 100 years in the making. How you formulate a 20- to 30-year solution takes time.”
jromeo@durangoherald.com
