Oklahoma attorney general Scott Pruitt, President Trump’s pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, pledged last week that, if nominated, he would review the EPA’s decision to not pay for damages related to the Gold King Mine spill.
At Pruitt’s Senate Committee on Environmental and Public Works confirmation hearing, U.S. Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyoming, recounted the EPA’s ruling that the agency is federally protected from having to reimburse any of the 73 damage claims for the August 2015 spill, totaling $1.2 billion.
“This doesn’t sound right to me,” Barrasso said. “If confirmed, will you commit that you’ll review that decision and use whatever authority’s available to you under the law to help the people that have been harmed by the EPA’s negligence?”
“Yes, Mr. Chairman,” Pruitt responded.
On Jan. 13, the EPA announced it would dismiss the claims after a ruling that said the agency was protected from lawsuits by the Federal Tort Claims Act, which encourages “government agencies to take action without the fear of paying damages in the event something went wrong while taking the action.”
“Congress passed this law saying that when the government is negligent, you can sue them, but it is a very narrow (window),” an EPA spokeswoman said at the time. “In this case, the EPA employees were making judgments about how to go about dealing with the Gold King Mine and this happened.”
The claims came from private business, such as farmers, rafting and outdoor companies, and individuals and governments, such as the state of New Mexico and the Navajo Nation.
All claimed they were adversely impacted by the EPA-triggered event, which sent 3 million gallons of mustard yellow mine waste down the Animas and San Juan rivers.
Sen. Corey Gardner, R-Colorado, issued a statement after hearing Pruitt’s comments.
“I applaud Attorney General Pruitt’s commitment to review the EPA’s decision to not process FTCA claims related to the Gold King Mine spill,” said Gardner.
“The EPA is responsible for the injury and economic losses that took place in Southwest Colorado, and that’s why I’ve worked to see that the agency is held accountable and that my constituents are made whole. This commitment is a step in the right direction. I will continue to work toward fixing the Obama Administration’s broken promise.”
The EPA last fall declared 48-mining related sites around Silverton, including the Gold King Mine, a Superfund site, which will provide the means to effectively address and improve water quality at the headwaters of the Animas River.
Countless studies have shown the massive plume of mine waste temporarily affected water quality, but had no long-term impact on aquatic life or river health.
Pruitt, who had not been confirmed as of Tuesday, is a known critic of the EPA, having sued the agency 13 times since 2011 as Oklahoma’s attorney general, mostly in attempts to push back regulations on emissions and air and water quality.
Pruitt, a climate change skeptic with ties to the fossil fuel industry, also has pledged to follow through with Trump’s promise to roll back, if not eliminate, many of the EPA’s regulations to combat climate change.
On Tuesday, Trump ordered a media blackout at the EPA, and barred the agency from making any new contracts or grants.
jromeo@durangoherald.com
