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