EPA Mine Spill in Colorado Raises Questions About Cleanup Cost, Responsibility

摘要

After Environmental Protection Agency investigators triggered the accidental release of 3 million gallons of mining wastewater and sediment into a river in southwest Colorado, the question arose-who, ultimately, will pay for the damage and cleanup? As an orange-tinted plume surged forth Aug. 5 from the blown-out Gold King Mine high in the Colorado Rockies, depositing sediment in the riverbed and staining rocks and brush in mustard-colored sludge, the EPA said it took "full responsibility" for the spill into the Animas River. "It pains me to no end to see this is happening," EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy said six days after the incident. "It is a tragic and unfortunate accident and EPA is taking responsibility to ensure that it's cleaned up." But under the nation's Superfund law, and under other liability doctrines governed by the Clean Water Act and legal precedent, private sector entities are likely to find themselves held accountable for costs and cleanup associated with the accident and its aftermath, sources told BNA.