#AnimasRiver: Are the bulkhead plugs at the Sunnyside Mine affecting water levels at the #GoldKing?

From The Denver Post (Bruce Finley):

An EPA hunt for potentially responsible parties (PRPs) is required after environmental disasters where damage is severe. EPA and state authorities have documented tens of thousands of inactive mines around Colorado and the West that leak toxic, metals-laced waste into headwaters of the nation’s rivers, with overall cleanup costs estimated as high as $70 billion. Mine owners deemed liable — if also found to be financially “viable” — can be forced to pay portions of cleanup costs so taxpayers alone aren’t stuck with the bills.

However, in this case, the EPA already has taken responsibility. An EPA crew digging into the mine set off the deluge.

Funding for cleanup has emerged as a key issue as Silverton and San Juan County leaders explore, in closed talks with the EPA and Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, whether to seek a possible disaster designation for a federal Superfund cleanup.

Local officials say they’re reluctant to begin a Superfund process if adequate funds aren’t available to get cleanup done, possibly including a permanent water treatment plant on Hennis’ property at Gladstone.

This month, Hennis granted the EPA access to the Gladstone land until March 2016. EPA crews already installed a temporary water treatment system there to filter metals draining from the Gold King. On Nov. 25, Hennis also granted consent by San Juan Corp. to let EPA crews work at the mine until December 2016.

“The EPA has been in discussions, and expects to continue discussions, with Mr. Hennis and his counsel regarding access and Mr. Hennis’ status at the site,” an EPA spokeswoman said.

EPA officials otherwise declined to discuss the Hennis dispute and funding available for cleanup of the Animas River headwaters.

An EPA contractor recently determined the Gold King portal may be located on federal Bureau of Land Management Land, not on Hennis’ property, according to Casey Carroll, San Juan Historical Society archive director, who helped the contractor find records.

That means the BLM could be considered potentially responsible.

Hennis claims his land is valuable because it is near the Silverton Mountain ski area.

His mining ventures in the once-lucrative district above Silverton began in 1996 when he bought the Mogul Mine. He later obtained, from foreclosure in 2005, the Gold King. It contains “one of the largest tellurium deposits on the planet,” Hennis said, referring to the metal used in solar panels and other applications.

“I want to see mining back in Silverton. Beyond my narrow economic interest, I want to see it back for the community. It needs good, high-paying jobs. I want to see it for our country as well. Mining can be done in an environmentally responsible fashion. The countries of the West need to bring it back. If we want to have a high-tech industry, we need to produce our own high-tech metals.”

For years, Hennis has been battling Sunnyside Gold Corp., now owned by the Canada-based conglomerate Kinross. He contends the state-backed plugging of the nearby Sunnyside Mine years ago, to reduce contamination of Animas headwaters, filled up other connected mines in the area.

Concrete bulkhead plugs inside Sunnyside created conditions where blowouts at many mines are likely, as seen in the Gold King disaster, Hennis said.

The Sunnyside closed in 1991 and, after installation of the bulkheads, Colorado officials released Sunnyside Gold from liabilities for damage to waterways. Sunnyside reclamation manager Larry Perino said the plugs aren’t to blame for the Gold King blowout.