WHEREAS the US Environmental Protection Agency has accepted responsibility for the August 05, 2015 spill of contaminated water from the historic Gold King Mine near Silverton, CO into the Animas River, and
WHEREAS Silverton residents and business people are reluctant to allow their community to be designated as a Superfund site, and
WHEREAS the EPA has withheld information from residents along the Animas River and San Juan River and all the way to Lake Powell, and
WHEREAS the EPA and other federal agencies must incorporate the expertise and dedication of state and local experts to resolve the issues resulting from the spill, and
WHEREAS CLUB 20 supports Good Samaritan legislation and local citizens’ and groups’ involvement in addressing impacts from the historic, legacy mines near their communities.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that CLUB 20 asserts that EPA must pay all of the costs of reclaiming damaged waterways and treating future wastewater from the Gold King Mine and other adjacent, connected historic mines, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that CLUB 20 urges Congress appropriate sufficient funds to the EPA to effectuate the clean-up and funding for communities to respond to future discharges, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that CLUB 20 supports Congress in creating an ongoing funding source for reclamation of abandoned, legacy mines to supplement AML taxes already collected from coal mining operations, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the appropriate Colorado state agencies and Animas River stakeholders be included in setting the standards to which necessary reclamation work is done, including a declaration of completion, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Colorado state agencies be in charge of contracting the work to be done with all due attention to providing local jobs and respect for local communities.
Adopted 9/11/2015