Energy

Senate Bill Makes EPA Pay For ALL The Costs Of Gold King Mine Blowout

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Republican senators introduced legislation Wednesday to make sure the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) fully compensates communities harmed by the massive mine blowout agency workers caused last year.

“The EPA must be held accountable for this travesty, and those that were impacted by this man-made disaster should be justly compensated,” Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch said in a statement, announcing the spill compensation bill he introduced with Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner.

Hatch and Gardner said their bill was prompted by a news reports that EPA wasn’t going to fully compensate La Plata County, Colo., for damages caused by the Gold King Mine mine blowout. So, far EPA has paid the county $200,000 for damages related to the August mine spill, which released more than three million gallons of wastewater into the Animas River.

But EPA says the cooperative agreement it signed with La Plata County “is not designed to cover anticipated expenses” from the spill, according to the Durango Herald. The paper reported “the EPA won’t cover continued monitoring of spill effects and water quality, a future response plan, continued outreach and public education.”

For months, Republicans have criticized EPA for not firing anyone in the wake of the spill or getting rid of the contracting company at the Gold King Mine when workers breached it Aug. 5. Lawmakers also slammed the agency for its slow response to the spill and for not being as tough on itself as it would have been had a private company spilled mine waste.

Sens. John McCain of Arizona and John Barrasso of Wyoming have even asked the Department of Justice to launch a criminal investigation into the EPA-caused mine blowout.

Hatch and Gardner’s bill requires EPA to fully pay the 60 federal tort claims against the agency for causing the spill. The bill also forces the agency to pay emergency response costs to state and local government and American Indian tribes.

“The EPA-born Gold King Mine disaster financially burdened families, businesses, tribal communities, and local governments not only in Colorado, but also neighboring states,” Gardner said.

EPA officials have paid out some of the spill costs, and have agreed to fund up to $2.4 million over the next decade to cover spill-related costs. Republicans say the EPA can do more, and the new bill would make EPA pay out claims made after the Oct. 31, 2015 deadline.

EPA, however, may have bigger worries. A Daily Caller News Foundation investigation found EPA workers intentionally breached Gold King Mine last year without taking the proper precautions. EPA could also face criminal charges for violating federal environmental laws, according to a legal expert.

The EPA did not immediately respond to TheDCNF’s request for comment.

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