La Plata County commissioners on Wednesday discussed the merits of formally supporting efforts in Congress to reform old mining laws to ensure adequate funds are available for mine cleanups.
The law under dispute, which has drawn more attention in the aftermath of the Gold King Mine spill in August, is the Mining Act of 1872, which opened the doors to the West for settlers by permitting mining and prospecting.
But in modern day, the law equates to a free-for-all: Mining claims can be filed at no cost, and that leaves no safety fund for mine cleanups.
“One reason to talk about this is for the board to possibly consider a resolution of support of the reform,” Commissioner Gwen Lachelt said at the work session.
“We could try to build support at the federal level.”
John Whitney, southwest regional director for Colorado U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, said a unified local voice of support would be welcomed at higher levels of government.
“Support coming from this basin is important and helps build momentum,” he said.
San Juan County officials are considering extending a similar statement supporting reform of mining laws, Whitney said.
“If this legislation were in place, there would be an option for Silverton or San Juan County to access funds without going down the Superfund designation route,” Commissioner Julie Westendorff said.
Next week, Silverton could make a formal request for Superfund status, which would qualify the area for federal cleanup dollars.
“It’s always been the challenge of money,” Whitney said.
“We’ve been talking about a water-treatment plant for 10 years.”
Also on Wednesday, commissioners heard a presentation from Fort Lewis College biology professor Heidi Steltzer, who in the aftermath of the Gold King spill organized a forum of regional scientists to discuss the watershed’s self-healing capabilities.
“A lot of emphasis initially was on what metals are present and whether it was above or below the set limits of the EPA,” Steltzer said.
“Often our best understanding of how to plan for public health is based on accidents – human exposure that occurred accidentally. Knowing there are a lot of limitations associated with those studies, I was more interested in knowing, can the system cleanse itself? Instead of worrying about if we’re above or below a limit, can we expect to see an improvement over time?”
Mainly considering the portion of the Animas River between Silverton and Durango, Steltzer said topography and rainfall impact concentration levels, and the river’s long history of pollution makes it difficult to determine “how concerned we should be.”
Going forward, she recommended involving more local scientists and experts to study river quality, and develop a plan for monitoring “environmental stresses.”
jpace@durangoherald.com
