In 1994, the EPA attempted to list the draining mines under Superfund, and had not Silverton resisted, our current crises could have been avoided. Superfund, which has the resources, has successfully cleaned up many areas, including the WWII chemical weapons site at Rocky Mountain Arsenal in Denver and the California Gulch outside Leadville, which had surface and groundwater contamination from mine drainage – wastes similar to those from the Gold King Mine.

Only a Superfund designation can prevent the pressure of another 3 million gallons of contaminated water from again leaking or bursting into our river. Efforts up to now have been completely inadequate.

Larry Tweedy

Durango