Following the release of 3 million gallons of toxic waste into the Animas River in southern Colorado, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is still refusing to name the contractor responsible, even though the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has done so. Apparently, the responsible company is Environmental Restoration (ER) LLC of Fenton, Missouri. Repeated requests from the Attorney Generals of Colorado, New Mexico and Utah for further information have been ignored by the EPA; however, the EPA has now put up its hands and accepted the blame.
ER LLC workers, under EPA direction, were involved in a project to control the flow of toxic waste from the Gold King Mine. Unfortunately, their actions led to millions of gallons being released into Cement Creek, which eventually turned the Animas River bright orange. Contamination has since spread into the San Juan River, and has severely restricted water usage in adjacent Native American lands.
It remains unclear why the EPA is so reticent in naming the shamed contractor. Interestingly, ER LLC has received over $381 million from U.S. taxpayers through government contracts, beginning October, 2007, of which $364 million was granted by the EPA. The EPA has been slammed by federal, state and local officials for the undeniable damage that has been done to the economy of Durango County and local drinking water supplies. However, the governor of New Mexico, Susana Martinez, has not ruled out actually suing Obama and the U.S. government, saying, “Right now, we have people preparing for a lawsuit.”
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