EPA Causes Another Toxic Waste Spill

Imagine for a second that a private corporation caused this. Good grief, the EPA would be FREAKING OUT. Unshaven hippies would be ripping off their puka shell necklaces in distress. Trees would randomly start dying. Mother earth would seek revenge!

Let’s backtrack. Back in August, the EPA dumped millions of gallons of nasty toxic sludge into Colorado’s Animas River, turning it a lovely rusty orange color. The EPA was reeeeeeeeeeally reeeeeeeeeally super duper sorry about it. And they promised they’d fine themselves billions of dollars and never do it ever ever ever again. Except not.

They did it again. On a smaller scale, but they did it again nevertheless.

An Environmental Protection Agency crew working at the Standard Mine above Crested Butte triggered a wastewater spill into a creek that flows into the town water supply — a small-scale repeat of the Gold King incident this year.

Only an estimated 2,000 gallons spilled Tuesday, amid efforts to open a collapsed portal.

And of course, being the super transparent government agency that they are, they didn’t notify the residents for two whole days.

EPA officials on Wednesday, responding to Denver Post queries about the mine, didn’t reveal the spill. On Thursday afternoon, the agency issued a prepared statement saying that, based on neutral acidity and creek flow levels, Crested Butte didn’t close its water intakes.

“Subsequent investigation found no visible plume or signs of significant impacts in downstream locations,” the EPA said.

“They told us things were going to be different. Now we have a spill,” Rep. Scott Tipton said. “We’ve apparently got a real challenge with the EPA, not only with notification but their accountability and their ability to adequately execute these types of cleanup projects….They’ve got resources. They’re the ones in charge of the program. And they’ve had two spills in my district alone. Is there a better way to approach this?”

At the cleanup site, acidic wastewater laced with cancer-causing cadmium and other toxic heavy metals leaches out of the mine into Elk Creek, which flows into Coal Creek — a primary source of water for Crested Butte. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has determined that the levels of arsenic, cadmium and zinc in Coal Creek exceed state standards.

“Once again the Environmental Protection Agency has apparently endangered Colorado’s waterways while drilling at an abandoned mine,” Colorado Attorney General Cynthia Coffman said. “I continue to be concerned that the EPA wants to zealously regulate Colorado’s resources but refuses to be accountable for their own activities when they negatively impact our state.”

Nothing to worry about, minions. The EPA has this handled. Move along. Nothing to see here.

h/t Denver Post