Well, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is at it again, coming up with effective solutions to pressing problems. Except instead of solving the problem completely, it inadvertently wound up creating another, much more imminent issue. On Wednesday, a team of EPA officials attempted to insert a drainage pipe into a dam at an abandoned mine in Colorado. Due to the volume of water and makeup of the dam, the water spewed out in to a runoff canal that led to a stream instead of a drainage pipe, turning a creek into a disgusting orange mess. The contaminated plume is expected to make it as far as Lake Powell.
It is sickening to see an environment that was so pure turn into a toxic wasteland that could have serious implications for the ecosystem. It is even more shocking that this destruction was caused by an agency whose mandate is to protect the environment. The team that caused this catastrophe should have known better and directed the runoff channel to an area where the contaminated water could be contained. Instead, they directed it in to a creek that was connected to a river system that many people use for drinking water. You have to wonder if these so called “experts” had anticipated and prepared for all situations. The contamination of the river certainly seems to indicate the contrary.
Perhaps I am being too harsh in my judgment of the EPA team. The real culprit is the lack of government regulation that allowed miners to dig wherever they wanted, and the Silverton Trustee Board’s refusal to list the site as a superfund site. The buildup of abandoned mines meant that an accident was bound to happen.
This accident could have been avoided if the EPA team had just taken the appropriate safety measures. The scale of the devastation could have been mitigated if the town had agreed to designate the site as a superfund site. The town attempted to clean up the site using local resources instead of the thousands of dollars of federal aid that would have been available if it had been designated as a superfund site. The town refused that designation because they feared that it would hurt the tourist industry. Now they can rest well knowing that, instead of decreasing the tourist industry, they completely shut it down for at least a week. Not to mention the damage that has been done by the knowledge that 3 million gallons of contaminated water spilled into the river. One can imagine the conversations going on between tourists as they discuss visiting Silverton.
“Honey, do you want to go visit the orange, heavy-metal-filled river?”
“No?”
Silverton appears to have adopted an unconventional and ineffective solution to the problem. Instead of taking a reasonable solution by accepting thousands of dollars in federal aid, the city attempted to obscure the situation from tourists and clean up the mess using local resources, which were clearly insufficient. This lead to the tragic situation that is currently playing out.
I will concede that this problem still could have occurred if the site had been listed as a superfund site. The same team could have been sent up to try and install the drainage pipe. The difference would be the amount of funds available to deal with the repercussions of the event, as well as the availability of a properly equipped clean up team on the site.
This brings us back to the team that was responsible for breaching the dam and releasing 3 million gallons of water into the river system. As experts who specialize in the cleanup of contaminated environments, they should have been prepared for all situations. Teams associated with the EPA should be protecting the environment, not destroying it. This team’s disastrous attempt to install a drainage pipe not only damaged the river ecosystem, but also robbed downstream cities of valuable drinking water and severely impacted the tourism industry in the area. The team responsible must face consequences for their actions in order to insure that this does not happen again in the future. The EPA must establish a culture of accountability, and let its teams know that they will face consequences for their actions. I would argue that the severity of the contamination warrants the resignation of the members of the team. If they do not step down voluntarily, the EPA must step in and fire them in order to foster a culture of accountability. If it doesn’t, it risks creating a culture where members think they can make mistakes without facing consequences.