The Environmental Protection Agency’s admission that it knew a toxic spill in Colorado was likely imminent, but chose to do nothing, is fueling Republican criticism that the Obama administration is ignoring public safety in favor of more lofty goals.
The EPA admission is found in an internal report issued months before an Aug. 5 spill wreaked havoc across three states in the West that the agency admits it caused. The report showed the agency was warned a catastrophic “blowout” at a gold mine in Colorado was possible if remedial actions weren’t taken.
“Conditions may exist that could result in a blowout of blockages and cause a release of large volumes of contaminated mine waters and sediment from inside the mine, which contain concentrated heavy metals,” a report dated June 2014 reads. A more recent internal report from May also warns of a blowout.
In the months after the warnings, a containment wall holding back millions of gallons of wastewater at the abandoned Gold King Mine in Silverton ruptured as contractors employed by the agency attempted an inspection.
The resulting spill caused a plume of yellow toxic sludge to make its way into the waterways of three states before it began to subside. Even now, the Navajo Nation in New Mexico refuses to agree with the EPA’s assessment that the water in the San Juan River is safe for farming, and it is keeping a ban in place.
Republicans say the administration has been too wrapped up in guarding the world against climate change to address environmental dangers closer to home and should be held accountable, according to Texas Republican Lamar Smith, who is leading a probe into the spill in the House.
“Even in the face of self-imposed environmental disaster, this administration continues to prioritize its extreme agenda over the interests and well-being of Americans,” said Smith, chairman of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee.
The committee has scheduled a Sept. 9 hearing on the spill and has requested the head of EPA and the contractor involved in the mine incident to testify. It appears from the internal reports that the contractor involved in the spill was the same one that drafted the blowout report.
The report that was released “in the dead of night” Friday raises new questions about the depth of EPA’s culpability, according to Smith. “The actions that caused this spill are either the result of EPA negligence or incompetence,” he said. “We must hear from all those involved to determine the cause of what happened and how to prevent future disasters like this.”
He doesn’t think EPA issuing the report in a clandestine fashion is helpful. “The public deserves to know why the EPA ignored the contractor’s concerns and forged ahead with this project,” he said.
He points out that after issuing the report, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy jetted off to Japan to discuss “climate change action … while President Obama, who has yet to visit the areas affected by the spill, is touring the U.S. to tout EPA’s latest regulation that will do little to impact climate change and will only further burden Americans with higher electric bills.”
“It is no wonder the majority of Americans feel Washington no longer works for them,” Smith contends.
In the days and weeks since the spill, both Republicans and Democrats have criticized the way EPA responded to the spill, particularly its lack of communication with local and state leaders in coordinating a response.
That gained the attention of the EPA inspector general, who started an investigation soon after letters to McCarthy were sent by lawmakers asking her to personally take control of the situation due to the lackluster response.
The Inspector General’s office said it would be looking into how the spill occurred and EPA’s response.
Smith said Tuesday that his attempts to get the EPA to send documents to his committee have been in vain. He said the science committee sent a letter to McCarthy on Aug. 10, five days after the spill, requesting all pertinent documents related to the incident.
“It is disappointing, but not surprising, that the EPA failed to meet the House Science Committee’s reasonable deadline in turning over documents pertaining to the Gold King Mine spill,” he said.
“These documents are essential to the committee’s ongoing investigation and our upcoming hearing on September 9th. But more importantly, this information matters to the many Americans directly affected in Western states, who are still waiting for answers from the EPA,” he wrote.
