EPA Staffer Won't Be Prosecuted For Gold King Mine Wastewater Spill

A U.S. EPA staffer will not be prosecuted for a wastewater spill that contaminated water in three states.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Colorado declined to prosecute the employee for the devastating Animas River wastewater spill, Fox News reported. The spill contaminated waterways in Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah with toxic heavy metals, including arsenic.

In August of last year, the Animas River was “grievously polluted with toxic water spilled from one of the many abandoned mines that pockmark the region — a spill for which the EPA claimed responsibility, saying it accidentally breached a store of chemical-laced water,” The New York Times reported.

“An EPA-led cleanup team inadvertently caused the blowout while working at the Gold King Mine above Silverton. The spill turned the Animas River a bright orange,” Colorado Public Radio reported.

Republican lawmakers are raising concerns about whether the EPA will be held accountable for the spill.

“The EPA's Office of Inspector General disclosed that it had found evidence the unnamed employee may have violated the Clean Water Act and given false statements. However, office spokesman Jeffrey Lagda says federal prosecutors declined to pursue the case. He says that in lieu of prosecution, the case will be sent to senior EPA management for review,” Fox News reported.

Republican lawmakers slammed the government for how it is handling the case. House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz, Republican from Utah, Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rob Bishop, Republican from Utah, and Rep. Cynthia Lummis, Republican from Wyoming, addressed their grievances to Attorney General Loretta Lynch in a letter sent Wednesday.

"By not taking up the case, the Department of Justice looks like it is going easy on its colleagues in EPA. Its lack of action on these charges give the appearance of hypocrisy, and seem to indicate that there is one set of rules for private citizens and another for the federal government. The EPA disaster deserves the same level of accountability to which private citizens are held,” the letter said.

For all of our coverage of the spill visit Water Online’s Source Water Contamination Solutions Center.