Durango Herald - Questions Arise Over Contractor Selection at Gold King Mine

News Article

By Peter Marcus

Questions are being raised after the Environmental Protection Agency announced that the same contractor who played a role in the Gold King Mine spill will oversee the contract for a new water-treatment system.

St. Louis-based Environmental Restoration LLC handled the request for proposal for the contract, which resulted in an announcement Wednesday that subcontractor Alexco Environmental Group Inc. will build the temporary treatment plant, to be located in Gladstone.

The facility will be operational by Oct. 14 and operate during the coming winter. The contract provides for 42 weeks of treatment.

The system comes after the EPA, working with Environmental Restoration, caused an estimated 3 million gallons of orange mining sludge to pour into the Animas River on Aug. 5. The team ran into problems during excavation while beginning restoration of the inactive Gold King Mine near Silverton.

Water-quality samples tested for initial spikes in heavy metals, some of which could have been toxic to humans.

Water quality in the Animas quickly returned to "pre-event" conditions, though polluted water continues to flow from the mine at about 550 gallons per minute. Without the plant, officials have had to rely on a series of settling ponds to capture the dirty water before being discharged to Cement Creek, which runs into the Animas.

The treatment system comes with a $1.78-million price tag. The plant will cost $20,000 per week to operate, with another $53,200 for demobilization and bonding, also set aside in the contract.

The EPA said it will pay for the system from Superfund dollars, money set aside to clean up blighted areas that could be toxic to humans. Gold King still has not officially been listed as a Superfund site.

Given Environmental Restoration's participation in the error that caused the spill in the first place, both Democrat and Republican policy-makers have concerns with continuing the contract and allowing the company to oversee the subcontract for the treatment system.

"There are still many questions remaining about how the Gold King Mine disaster occurred, and who -- from EPA officials to contractors -- was directly responsible," said U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton, R-Cortez. "Investigations and congressional inquiries are still ongoing, and to date, the EPA has yet to provide a full accounting of what happened or who specifically was at fault.

"Given all of these things, it is concerning that the EPA is rushing to move forward with the very same contractor who was working under the agency at the Gold King Mine when the blowout occurred," Tipton said. "It shows poor judgement on the part of EPA officials who are acting as though it's business as usual."

In a statement provided to The Durango Herald after a request for comment, the EPA defended the agency's continued business with Environmental Restoration.

"Environmental Restoration is a primary emergency response contractor for EPA in Colorado and elsewhere. This standing contract allows us to immediately respond to emergencies and time critical response actions. The contractor operates under the direct supervision of EPA employees on a cost reimbursable basis. They do not make independent decisions on site operation," the EPA statement read.

"ER has done work for many years for the agency," the statement continued. "We are waiting on the results of the independent review and the inspector general's report to determine if any actions with respect to the contract are appropriate."

The Interior Department has been charged with conducting the independent investigation, which has also raised eyebrows. Critics say there is overlap between the EPA and Interior Department, which has raised questions about performing an adequate review.

When asked by the Herald on Tuesday about the investigation, Interior Secretary Sally Jewell responded: "This will be fully independent."

She said the Bureau of Reclamation, which is overseeing the investigation, has been at Gold King since early on, working with the EPA on toxins in the water.

"We have scientists that know water quality, they know mines, they understand the risks and they are doing that independent investigation right now," Jewell said.

For its part, Environmental Restoration has defaulted to the EPA to comment on the spill, suggesting it is contractually obligated to exercise confidentiality.

"ER takes great pride in our staff and long history of working with the USEPA and commercial clients in protecting and cleaning up the environment on thousands of projects nationwide. We stand behind our project management team and labor force at the Silverton site," a news release from the company stated.

La Plata County Commissioner Gwen Lachelt, a Democrat, also is concerned with continuing the contract with Environmental Restoration.

"In the absence of a full independent investigation of the Gold King Mine spill, it would be prudent of the EPA to utilize another contractor," Lachelt said. "That said, I am pleased the EPA is moving forward with the installation of a winter waste-water treatment facility. Time is of the essence and it is critical that the acid mine drainage be treated during the winter months."

Colorado U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner, a Republican, had similar thoughts on building the plant, saying: "Until we get to the bottom of what happened at the Gold King Mine, and until those responsible for the spill are held accountable, I have concerns about proceeding on other projects with the same people who were working on the site when the spill took place."

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