it is clear that this was simply a ticking time bomb. A mild earthquake or a weather-related landslide could no doubt have triggered this spill. To what degree EPA was culpable in not notifying others of the spill sooner is unclear (for example, apparently the engineers working in the area had no cell phone coverage, see EPA faces criticism, praise at Silverton meeting published August 11, 2015 in the Durango Herald).
As the Plumer article indicates, the EPA has been trying to clean up the area since the 1980's and yet the town of Silverton has resisted time and time again.
A worse spill took place in 1975. The Animas River has been contaminated for a very long time.
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| Animas River, September 2011 |
While the conspiracy theorists and anti-fed folks will instead cry foul and point their fingers towards Washington DC, what this shows are the very real and long term impacts of irresponsible mining activities and practices of the past, some of which continue; that's what the headline should say and what the text of the article supports.
When energy/mining companies are asked for reclamation or other post disturbance plans consisting of as little as say five years, look at what can happen 100+ years later. The short term gains are followed by exceptionally long term impacts that can and do jeopardize the future for all of us. The Navajo Nation and downstream farmers should be seeking redress against the miners and energy companies that created this problem, and a local government that failed to act timely, and that stubbornly fought the cleanup at every turn, not the EPA.
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| Animas River, September 2011 |
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