Some have opined that the EPA let some contractor do this work without sufficient surveys, warnings or adequate knowledge of the mine and its millions of gallons of contaminated water. The average La Plata County farmer knows better than these EPA lead contractors and would not place a shovel in the ground without adequate knowledge of what is under it. Can the EPA even shoot straight or is this the Beverly Hillbillies’ digging defense?

The theory goes that the EPA would benefit as a government agency needing billions to fund water-treatment plants, which, as I understand it, would grow the agency itself exponentially. This would be a form of justice to the liberal ideology and spread the wings of the EPA that has, in the past, interfered with the manufacturing industry that provides needed jobs with reasonable compensation.

On the face of it, this catastrophe, as the Herald calls it, is the evidence of negligence on a massive scale. Unfortunately, it will take years to run it through the legal system to find fault, all while the EPA benefits, growing its influence and causing further destruction of our economy.

Jim Dolan

Durango