The Environmental Protection Agency this week told state, local and tribal governments about how much they would receive in
EPA contractors accidentally released 3 million gallons of acid mine drainage from the Gold King Mine into the Animas River on Aug. 5, 2015, and legislators have been calling on the agency to cover the costs of the spill.
“I was disappointed in this most recent letter, but not surprised,” La Plata County Manager Joe Kerby said of the notification.
La Plata County was among the 12 affected governments listed as Gold King reimbursement recipients, according to EPA documents. The state of New Mexico was expected to receive the most at $1,072,585, but this money will be split among 14 different local governments and state agencies.
Allocations to the states of Utah and Colorado are still pending.
But the other governments have been directed to the appeals process if they disagree with the reimbursement decision, EPA letters said.
It is unknown how long an appeal might take, said Andrew Mutter a spokesman for EPA.
“We don’t have a specified time line, but we will work as fast as we can to resolve any appeals,” he said.
Kerby believes at least another $29,000 in reimbursements mostly to cover La Plata County staff time is warranted.
This would cover time the staff spent in meetings after Oct. 31, the date the agency closed its incident command in Durango. The county has asked the EPA multiple times to consider reimbursements for expenses that occurred after this date, he said.
“The EPA has reimbursed us for a substantial amount, I believe they should reimburse us 100 percent,” he said.
Pending legislation would allow Gold King expenses after Oct. 31 to be reimbursed, according to a statement from Sen. Michael Bennet’s office.
Bennet also expressed disappointment in the EPA in a written statement.
“Although we’re relieved the EPA has finally ended its long drawn-out reimbursement process, it’s disappointing that the agency has not reimbursed the communities for more of their costs,” Bennet said in a statement. “We will continue to fight for our measure to enable further reimbursements and establish a long-term water monitoring program.”
La Plata County’s total request included about $2.5 million for future costs, which were denied as well.
Part of the problem may be communication.
“We didn’t have a clear direction from the EPA as to what they would and would not reimburse,” Kerby said.
The city of Durango requested $444,032 for costs it incurred during the toxic waste spill and about $5.2 million for future costs through 2030, according to an EPA letter.
The EPA approved $55,403 in reimbursement related to the spill, and the city has already received these funds, said Sherri Dugdale, assistant to the city manager.
The city staff members have not reviewed the EPA’s decision enough to say whether they might consider an appeal, she said.
The city was asked to anticipate future costs and include those in its request, but the city had not included these funds in the city budget, she said.
The EPA will also fund a cooperative agreement with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment that will cover the city’s request for $101,465 for improvements to the Santa Rita pump station monitoring system, the letter said.
The city pumps water from the Animas River at the station.
The costs that the EPA decided not reimburse the city for include lost revenue from the sale of water, travel costs and working lunches.
Food is not a reimbursable cost under the Comprehensive Environmental Response and Liability Act, which is governing the reimbursements, Mutter said.
San Juan County and Silverton received $349,565 of the $8.4 million the two governments requested.
The county and the town would consider an appeal together, if one is warranted, Town Manager Bill Gardner said.
He could not say, yet, if that is the case.
“They are extremely helpful, and I think it is fair we are reimbursed,” he said, of reimbursements.
The EPA’s regional representatives have done their best to get the town and city reimbursed, he said.
mshinn@durangoherald.com
