State and local officials launch on feds for lack of action
Face The State Staff Report
DENVER - It could take up to 12 weeks and cost $6 million to prevent the devastating blowout of the Leadville Mine Drainage Tunnel, according to federal agencies and state lawmakers who met yesterday in a Capitol meeting to discuss a joint action plan.
The working session, led by state Sen. Tom Wiens, R-Castle Rock, opened with Lake County Commissioner Mike Hickman reaming the federal agencies present for their inadequate response to the pending disaster.
“I’m damn angry,” said Hickman, “I have three agencies sitting right over here, and I am terming them as the three stooges. We in Lake County have a problem. We have a long time problem, and it has been a problem that has been brewing for years.” (Audio)
LeadvilleKarla Kaulfuss/Flickr
According to Hickman, Lake County asked for federal assistance back in March 2005 only to be meet with study after study of the mine drainage tunnel and no substantial solution or results.
Commissioners were critical of the Bureau of Reclamation, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment for their inability to act during this crisis. The Federal Emergency Management Agency was also present at the session.
“We are facing a bureaucratic meltdown,” said Lake County Commissioner Ken Olson, who attacked the federal agencies for their inability to communicate effectively.
Approximately 1 billion gallons of contaminated water is estimated to be inside the mountain. It has already begun seeping into the soil and could potentially contaminate Leadville’s drinking water. Commissioners also fear that there could be a significant loss of life if the tunnel bursts – killing as many as 400 people who live in the surrounding area.
Robbie Roberts, Regional Administrator of the EPA, promised $1.5 million of funding from his agency that would be used to pump contaminated water out of the mine tunnel. This temporary fix is scheduled to start next Wednesday. It is going to take 12 more weeks to mobilize and implement a permanent solution.
Jim Martin, executive director of the CDPHE, said that he supports the EPA’s solution and will help find available funding. Martin also took the opportunity to assure the crowd that the drinking water is still safe, after hearing rumors that the Leadville Safeway had been selling out of bottled water.
Proposing the only long-term solution of the day, Olson laid out a four-point plan that would pump the polluted water out of the blocked mine tunnel and into the nearby water treatment plant – a plan, which until today has been meet with resistance from the BOR.
U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Loveland, was present at the working session and pledged to help solve the problems and avoid catastrophe. Colorado's other Senator, Ken Salazar, a Democrat, did not attend. Earlier in the month, however, Salazar outrged concerned state legislators, including Wiens, when he sent a letter to the BOR expressing “concern” about contamination of the area if the mine drainage tunnel bursts. In the correspondence, Salazar did not ask for any action from the BOR, except to see a report of their investigation.
If the drainage were to tunnel burst, local officials say it could undo 24 years and $70 million of the California Gulch Superfund cleanup. The mine drainage tunnel in question was not included in this superfund cleanup, which is managed by the EPA.
“The government is approaching this problem backwards,” said Wiens, whose district includes Leadville. “They keep trying to assess blame when they need to be creating a permanent solution.”