Mining company, government settle who's liable for Gold King Mine cleanup
A Colorado mining company and the federal government will split the $90 million cost of cleaning up the Superfund site near Silverton.
Author: Jennifer Campbell-Hicks
Published: 1:52 PM MST January 21, 2022
Updated: 2:05 PM MST January 21, 2022
$90 million settlement clears way to clean up Gold King Mine site | 9news.com
DENVER — The State of Colorado and the federal government reached an agreement Friday with a mining company on who's responsible for paying for cleanup of the Gold King Mine – more than six years after 3 million gallons of acidic waste spilled from the site.
Under the agreement, the
Sunnyside Gold Corp. and its Canadian parent company will pay $45 million, in exchange for the State of Colorado and the federal government dismissing claims against the companies.
The federal government will also contribute $45 million to cleaning up what's known as the
Bonita Peak Mining District Superfund site.
On Aug. 5, 2015, an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-led contractor inadvertently triggered a spill while doing preliminary cleanup work at the old Gold King Mine near Silverton, in southwest Colorado.
The resulting 3-million-gallon blowout turned rivers in Colorado, New Mexico and Utah a sickly shade of yellow from wastewater contaminated with toxic heavy metals. One of those was the Animas River.
In December, Colorado approved a separate $1.6 million settlement with Sunnyside Gold Corp., resolving the company's alleged liability for damages caused by spill.
The agreement announced Friday pertained to
a separate settlement with the EPA, the U.S. Justice Department, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the State of Colorado.
"This settlement will allow EPA to continue our important cleanup work at the site to protect human health and the environment," said Director Betsy Smidinger of EPA Region 8's Superfund and Emergency Management Division, in a statement. "We look forward to working with our state and local partners to use these funds which will be utilized to improve the environment for the people who work, live, and recreate in the area."
Sunnyside Gold Corp. said in a news release that the settlement was reached "as a matter of practicality, with no admission of liability or wrongdoing" and that it allows the EPA and Colorado to direct resources toward future cleanup.
"SGC [Sunnyside Gold Corp.] has a long and positive history of improving water quality in the Animas River and this agreement will further that legacy," according to the release.
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