Conspiracy theories notwithstanding, it turns out the Environmental Protection Agency was not lying about the level of pollutants left in the Animas River after the Aug. 5 spill of polluted wastewater from the Gold King Mine above Silverton. That is only one of the positive results of the county’s decision to run independent tests on the river’s water quality.
The county’s independent testing also reassured residents that their local government takes their safety seriously and is on top of things. Both are good to know.
Beyond that, double checking things is simply good practice, especially when public safety is in doubt. It speaks well of La Plata County’s commissioners that they did not hesitate to order the independent testing.
La Plata County has already spent more than $178,000 on its response to the spill. And while the county could recoup its expenses in an agreement with the EPA, it is certainly not what any of the commissioners would have wanted to do with that money or the time the response took from county staff. Nonetheless, that response – and most particularly the testing –was needed.
The EPA findings naturally came under suspicion because it was workers operating under the auspices of that agency who inadvertently triggered the spill. In today’s political climate it is but one step from knowing that to believing that the EPA deliberately caused the spill or was lying to cover up how damaging it really was.
As it turns out, however, the EPA’s water-quality findings almost perfectly match those of the county. The “almost” qualification is needed only because the two sets of tests were done completely independently – as opposed to a “split sample” procedure in which one sample is taken and then divided into two portions to be tested separately. Add to that the fact that the levels of contaminants in the samples are so low that, as one of those involved in the testing told the Herald, “One speck will change the results at this level.”
The county took 12 water samples at the same time and place as the EPA gathered its specimens. Surface water testing locations ranged from Bakers Bridge to south of downtown Durango. Sediment samples were taken from several other spots, including area irrigation ditches.
The county results also follow a report by the Mountain Studies Institute that showed the Animas had quickly returned to normal after the spill passed.
The result of all that is that area residents can rest assured that the Animas is safe. And with that, perhaps they can even trust a federal agency once in a while.
