Denver • The Environmental Protection Agency announced Friday it will not repay claims totaling more than $1.2 billion for economic damages from a mine waste spill the agency accidentally triggered in Colorado, saying the law prohibits it.
The EPA said the claims could be refiled in federal court, or Congress could authorize payments.
But attorneys for the EPA and the Justice Department concluded the EPA is barred from paying the claims because of sovereign immunity, which prohibits most lawsuits against the government.
“The agency worked hard to find a way in which it could pay individuals for damages due to the incident, but unfortunately, our hands are tied,” EPA spokeswoman Nancy Grantham said.
The EPA said it has spent more than $31.3 million on the spill, including remediation work, water testing and payments to state, local and tribal agencies.
A total of 73 claims were filed, some by farmers who lost crops or had to haul water because rivers polluted by the spill were temporarily unusable for irrigation and livestock. Rafting companies and their employees sought lost income and wages because they couldn’t take visitors on river trips. Some homeowners sought damages because they said their wells were affected.
“We had direct revenue losses of $50,000-plus,” said Alex Mickel, owner of Mild to Wild Rafting in Durango, Colorado.
Mickel said the EPA had left him with the impression it would compensate for economic losses.
“That just amazes me that they would do just a complete reversal,” he said in an interview. Mickel said he would consult with his attorney on his next move.
The August 2015 spill at the Gold King Mine in southwestern Colorado released 3 million gallons of wastewater tainted with iron, aluminum, manganese, lead, copper and other metals. The Animas and San Juan rivers in Colorado, New Mexico and Utah were polluted, with stretches of waterway turning an eerie orange-yellow.
Some of the affected rivers pass through Indian reservations.
Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye said the nation would keep pushing for compensation.
“It was devastating to both the Navajo Nation and to the farmers,” he said. “Even today, people still question if the water is clean enough for farming, livestock or human consumption.”
The EPA has said water quality in the rivers has returned to pre-spill conditions.
Members of Congress expressed anger and disappointment at the EPA decision. New Mexico Sens. Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich and Rep. Ben Ray Lujan, all Democrats, accused the agency of reneging on a pledge.
“We are outraged at this last-ditch move by the federal government’s lawyers to go back on the EPA’s promise to the people of the state of New Mexico — and especially the Navajo Nation — that it would fully address this environmental disaster that still plagues the people of the Four Corners region.”
Members of Colorado’s congressional delegation said they would introduce legislation to repay economic damage.
“When the law allows the government to hide from those whom it has harmed, the law must change,” Colorado Republican Sen. Cory Gardner said.
An EPA-led contractor crew triggered the spill while doing exploratory excavation work at the mine entrance in advance of a possible cleanup. The Gold King is one of hundreds of inactive mines in the Colorado mountains that continuously spew polluted water into rivers or have the potential to do so.
The EPA has designated the area a Superfund site to pay for a broad cleanup. Initial research is underway.
State, federal and tribal officials have been harshly critical of the EPA for causing the spill and for its handling of the aftermath, including the costs. The Navajo Nation and the state of New Mexico have already sued the agency in federal court, and other lawsuits are likely after Friday’s announcement.
Last month, the EPA said it would pay $4.5 million to state, local and tribal governments to cover the cost of their emergency response to the spill, but the agency rejected $20.4 million in other requests for past and future expenses, again citing federal law.
http://www.sltrib.com/news/4817864-155/epa-says-it-cant-pay-economic?fullpage=1
If we-the-people did that kind of damage to the environment, we’d never see the light of day. We need a revolution,in favor of an accountable government, like the one we started with.
This strikes me the same as Big Pharma who passes legislation to not become accountable for damages caused by vaccines…
“….a mine waste spill the agency accidentally triggered in Colorado, saying the law prohibits it.”
No,no,no….. sorry, Bubba. We’ve already had confessions that this was done intentionally, and what the law prohibits is letting them get away with it.
Round up the guilty parties and force them to prostitute themselves until the fine is paid. After a few years of whoredom, they’ll be all ready for congressional seats.
“sovereign immunity”???????????
YEAH… I GOT THAT TOO………
Which law(s), whose laws are being implemented here?
Like the Potus, the buck stops there.
If the EPA allowed/is responsible for this, then, they have to pay out bucks.
There is not supposed to be a get out of paying for damage done by the EPA.
Nor any other commercial entity that causes damage to peoples lives/livelihood or to nature/the dirt, water etc.
In all of these and more exists many types of living ecosystems where from all can continue to thrive and contribute to the whole.
If these and the other Alphabet “agencies” are allowed to operate with the unconstrained apparent power they operate in, IT/They will essentially kill us, and all other life on this planet.
They not only fix and pay for the problems they create to the earth. They don’t care about the peoples lives they destroy.
And, the problem is that those in the Judicial, Executive, and Representative branches are in bed with it all. For a stinking paycheck!
I see this as Karma.
That’s what these mormons get for putting that NSA, Google and Oracle datacenter up there to spy on us.
They get what they deserve.
Fk’m.
Now just go die and disappear.
You treasonous fks.
Flee, I have been lurking here for about 7 years now reading and learning!!!! Some of us here in Utah do not like looking at that pile of shit on the MT. anymore than you do we tried to stop it. However our reps here are put in place by the dominate church. We live in a high desert and that crap hole uses about 150 million gals of water a day for cooling 90% of which can not be reclaimed they like all scum in government do not care what we want they do as they please yes a lot of people are blind to the truth of what is happening and a lot think their magic jammy’s will save all. However their are some of us that are not sheep in any flock, So your blanket statement is really quite disturbing and regrettable because you are helping them by seeding discord and hate towards another group you have no knowledge of (United we stand divided we fall) and it is what they want easier to cull the herds if they are fighting amongst each other!! and if you would look into it Mormons are very much preppers and have had along distrust towards the gov. Not saying this to start a fight just adding my two cents!!!
“Mickel said the EPA had left him with the impression it would compensate for economic losses.”
‘Impression’? Seriously?
CONTRACTS are the only thing these scum adhere to.
And even those they’ll break… IF they think they can get away with it.
You simply cannot trust anything any government stooge tells you. I don’t care if it’s a fed, a Statie, a county or a municipal criminal, all they do is steal and lie.