The Gold King Mine Spill: 10 Years After

In August of this year, Durango will mark the 10^th anniversary of the Gold King mine spill.

The anniversary of the accident provides an excellent opportunity to update citizens and visitors of Durango on what has transpired since.

But first, let’s set the record straight. The spill was not an environmental disaster. This isn’t to say there were no impacts; there were—and they were profound and felt to this day. But it was not an acute environmental disaster.

As the rusty plume of presumed toxic water approached Durango, Colorado Parks & Wildlife put 100 juvenile trout from the hatchery in a cage and placed that cage in the river. The cage stayed submerged for about a week as the plume passed. Not a single trout died. These “canary in a coal mine” fish are an indicator of water quality.

Additionally, local scientists took water samples. Results showed the water’s pH (acidity) was near neutral, and the metals of concern were, therefore, not in their toxic, dissolved form. It is the water’s pH that is the driver of metal toxicity.

We dodged a bullet—at least on the environmental front.

Within six weeks of the spill, the Environment Protection Agency’s emergency response team had built a water treatment plant just downhill from the Gold King at Gladstone. Perpetually discharging water from the mine was piped to this facility and treated to meet high water quality standards. The treatment facility is still in operation, and everyone downstream enjoys improved water quality in the Animas because of it.

In the wake of the spill, elected officials from Silverton unanimously voted to seek a federal Superfund listing. The Governor of Colorado took this request to EPA leadership, and one year following the spill, 48 mining pollution sources in San Juan County were designated the Bonita Peak Mining District Superfund site, including the Gold King. This federal law is the legal mechanism by which anyone can clean up draining, abandoned mines, and the Super ‘fund’ pays for it, along with any money that can be recovered from any potentially liable and viable mining entity.

People often say, “Well, the EPA caused the spill. They should fix it.” But let’s be clear: the EPA was at the Gold King that day investigating a pollution source for possible future remediation work. They had an unfortunate accident. However, the EPA is not a mining company, and they did not cause the pollution. The Gold King is one of dozens of draining mines in San Juan County. In essence, the upper Animas transports about the equivalent of one Gold King spill’s worth of water and metals once every week or two, depending on the time of year. And this is the case to this day. But again, pH remains near neutral near Durango, and an excellent trout fishery in town proves we’re in pretty good shape overall. The input of clean creek water dilutes the pollution on its way down from Silverton. The upper watershed, however, continues to suffer acute water quality problems.

Since 2016, much work has occurred, and we’re heading in the right direction, albeit slowly.  There are over 1,300 Superfund sites in America, but the Bonita Peak site remains a top priority for the EPA. It should be noted that there is only about a four-month window of snow-free time to work above 9,300 feet near Silverton. Progress is incremental.

The Superfund law contains a mechanism by which the affected community can participate in the cleanup process. In 2019, local citizens formed a Community Advisory Group, or CAG, to work alongside the EPA and the State of Colorado in the massive cleanup. The CAG consists of 15 volunteer citizens, four of whom are appointed by the two counties and two towns. Members of the CAG represent various water quality interests and are largely water quality, remediation, and environmental professionals well-versed in these issues. The CAG hosts bi-monthly public meetings with the EPA to discuss and coordinate cleanup priorities and actions. Additionally, the CAG maintains a public website as the clearinghouse for all related materials and documents. Learn more at www.BonitaPeakCAG.org.

Since the initial Superfund listing, a number of key objectives have been met or are fully in process. This is a very large site, with multiple pollution source areas encompassing almost the entirety of San Juan County. As such, it’s not possible to point to barrels leaking toxins into the environment and say, “There’s your problem.” The EPA and its partners continue with investigations to fully understand the problem before a final remediation plan is selected.

In the interim, the EPA has recently completed a five-year review of its work thus far. In 2019, the EPA embarked on 23 ‘low-hanging fruit’ projects to begin work where the remedy was obvious. These were largely dirt-moving projects to pull solid mining waste from waterways. To date, all but two of these projects have been completed.

The water treatment plant at Gladstone continues to operate. The facility produces waste that must be disposed of safely. After years of engineering design and construction, the new, permanent repository north of Silverton will begin accepting waste this summer. It is a consideration that a larger treatment facility will be built to treat more pollution sources down the road, but the waste must go somewhere.

Superfund is our course, but we need only look at the Arkansas River near Salida for an indicator of what can be after a major mining cleanup. Due to polluting mines near Leadville, the Arkansas River was once devoid of trout and river recreation. Today, the river boasts over 100 miles of ‘Gold Medal’ designated trout waters, and the Arkansas is number one in the state in terms of commercial rafting numbers. Today, Salida and Buena Vista’s recreation economy is healthy and vibrant—just like the river.

Patience is the key. We’ll get there. Even better water quality is to come.

In the meantime, grab a fly rod and go chase some trout on the Animas in town, or hitch a ride through Smelter Rapid with one of Durango’s rafting outfitters. We are lucky the Gold King spill wasn’t worse and fortunate to have such a magnificent river as our city’s identity.

By: Ty Churchwell