Six months before the Gold King Mine blowout, a grass-roots movement prompted elected officials in Southwest Colorado to propose a site-specific good Samaritan legislation for counties within the San Juan Mountains.
The idea was to implement a pilot program that would provide adequate protections for parties undertaking remediation projects in the hopes the legislation could spread to other communities dealing with mines polluting watersheds.
Ty Churchwell, Animas River coordinator for Trout Unlimited, said businesses, organizations and individuals formed the San Juan Clean Water Coalition to engage and educate towns such as Ouray, Rico and Lake City, while at the same time support lawmakers.
“Every water source from the San Juan Mountains has mine-related problems, so it was a perfect place to do a pilot legislation,” Churchwell said. “And then Aug. 5 happened, and everything changed.”
The Gold King Mine was breached by Environmental Protection Agency contractors on Aug. 5, releasing 3 million gallons of tainted water into the Animas River.
Now, senators Michael Bennet, D-Colo., and Cory Gardner, R-Colo., and Rep. Scott Tipton, R-Cortez, are pushing a measure that would expand the reach of treating leaking mines, an endemic problem in the West caused by years of unregulated mining.
In response, the goals of the clean water coalition broadened.
The group advocates a five-point plan: a permanent water treatment plant in the Upper Cement Creek basin; legislation to facilitate remediation of mines across the West; proper watershed monitoring; economic recovery from the spill; and community involvement.
Churchwell said the group has grown into a coalition of more than 100 businesses and hundreds of individuals.
“River recreation is a key component of Durango’s healthy recreation/tourism-based economy,” Duranglers Flies and Supplies co-owner Tom Knopick said in a prepared statement. “The health of our businesses and the success of our clients depend on it.”
The clean water coalition will hold a launch party at 5 p.m. Monday at Animas Brewing Co.
Churchwell said the event will be an opportunity for community members to learn how to become more involved, as well as celebrate the river.
“If nothing else, post-Gold King spill, this community recognized our very essence and being are tied to the health of our river, and as such, we are all the Animas,” he said.
If You Go
San Juan Clean Water Coalition launch party, 5 p.m. Monday, Animas Brewing Co., 1560 East Second Ave.
