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. [crscore]Orrin Hatch[/crscore] said in a statement, announcing the spill compensation bill he introduced with Colorado Sen. [crscore]Cory Gardner[/crscore].
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. [crscore]John McCain[/crscore] of Arizona and [crscore]John Barrasso[/crscore] 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.
Update: An EPA spokeswoman said the agency did not comment on pending legislation, but she did give TheDCNF a list of whose been compensated by EPA. here it is:
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Allocated $2 million in funding to support states’ and tribes’ monitoring plans. Utah, New Mexico, Southern Ute Indian Tribe, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, Navajo Nation, and Colorado are eligible and may apply those funds to spring monitoring and preparedness planning as well. Some entities have applied and some have not.
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Agreed to contribute an additional $628,000, which in combination with the prior $2 million in funding, will enable states and tribes to fund a real-time water-quality monitoring alert system. This real-time monitoring would also serve to ensure successful coordination and implementation of notification and preparedness activities for communities downstream.
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Provided $197,792 to La Plata County through a pre-existing cooperative agreement with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE). These funds were a reimbursement for the County’s allowable removal response expenses related to the Gold King Mine release.
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Provided $220,667 to San Juan County/Town of Silverton through a pre-existing cooperative agreement with CDPHE. These funds were reimbursement for the county’s and town’s allowable removal response expenses related to the Gold King Mine release.
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Provided an additional $5,529 to San Juan County/Town of Silverton through a Superfund Cooperative Agreement awarded on April 1, 2016.
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Provided an additional $72,786 to La Plata County through a Superfund Cooperative Agreement awarded on April 1, 2016. EPA is in the process of evaluating additional expenses requested by La Plata County, and expects to reimburse additional allowable response costs under the cooperative agreement soon.
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Provided $2,471 to the City of Durango through a Superfund Cooperative Agreement awarded on April 1, 2016. EPA is in the process of evaluating additional expenses requested by the City of Durango and expects to reimburse additional allowable response costs under the cooperative agreement soon.
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Provided $71,571 to San Juan Basin Health through a pre-existing cooperative agreement with CDPHE and an additional $969 through a Superfund Cooperative Agreement awarded on April 1, 2016.
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Provided $157,000 in funding through a cooperative agreement with Navajo Nation government agencies for costs incurred during the response to the August 2015 Gold King Mine release, and requested additional information from the Navajo Nation about remaining reimbursement requests to determine their eligibility under the EPA’s response authorities and federal grant principles. These funds are in addition to more than $1.1 million spent by the agency in response costs on the Navajo Nation immediately following the release.
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Reimbursed the Southern Ute Indian Tribe $116,372 for costs incurred during the response. EPA is in the process of evaluating additional expenses requested by the Southern Ute Indian Tribe and expects to reimburse additional allowable response costs.
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Provided $19,460 in funding through a cooperative agreement with Arizona for costs incurred during the response to the August 2015 Gold King Mine release. EPA is reviewing requests from Arizona for reimbursement of additional costs.
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Allocated an additional $159,900 of recertified tribal funds to the Southern Ute Indian Tribe to further support their water quality monitoring plans.
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Reimbursed the New Mexico Environment Department and other entities in the state for $728,681 for costs incurred during the response. EPA is working with the New Mexico Environment Department to review additional requests for response costs following the state’s request for an extension.
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