Four years ago, on August 5, our beautiful river ran orange. After the plume passed, citizens, non-profits and businesses worked on the acid mine drainage issue at the headwaters of the Animas.

In 2016, with the support of local governments and citizens groups, the federal government placed the Bonita Peak Mining District on Superfund’s National Priority List, helping secure resources to mitigate the pollution in our headwaters.

Many around the state aren’t so lucky and will continue to see acid mine drainage in their watershed with few cleanup options. This is because a Superfund designation is only for the worst sites, and third-parties who want to volunteer to cleanup abandoned mines are hamstrung by liability for pollution they didn’t cause.

That’s why it’s past time for Good Samaritan legislation and modernizing the 1872 Mining Law. Moving forward on this legislation, we’ll maintain opportunities for responsible mining while also allowing Good Samaritan groups to clean up abandoned mines. By creating a remediation fund funded by new royalties for extracting minerals on public lands, we can double down on work to clean up orphan mines that will never be designated Superfund but will continue to pollute forever unless we act now. Please let Rep. Scott Tipton and Sens. Cory Gardner and Michael Bennett know this is a priority.

Cole Glenn

Durango