It has been reported that the San Juan County commissioners and the government of the town of Silverton have been instrumental in preventing the Coal King mine and many other mines in that area from becoming Superfund sites, thus allowing a permanent solution to the pollution of the Animas River. Whether this is the case or not, the catastrophe should prove that the stop-gap measures that have been put in place to remedy pollution form these mines are grossly insufficient. A larger scale solution will require Superfund status for these mines.
Therefore, our La Plata County commissioners, our Durango City Council, and hopefully the state of Colorado need to immediately join forces to demand Superfund status for these mines. They have been polluting the Animas for many years. Fish from the Animas have not been edible for many years. And yet Superfund status for the polluting mines has not been forthcoming as it should have been.
Regardless of the reason for inaction in the past and use of only stop-gap measures, the environmental disaster we have experienced should demand Superfund status for these mines, and I call on our city, county, and state governments to take whatever administrative or legal action necessary to bring this about.
Richard Ruth
Durango