WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Chairman John Barrasso (R-WY) delivered the following remarks at an oversight hearing titled, “EPA’s Gold King Mine Disaster: Examining the Harmful Impacts to Indian Country.”
The hearing features testimony from the Honorable Gina McCarthy, administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; the Honorable Russell Begaye, president of Navajo Nation; the Honorable James “Mike” Olguin, tribal council member for the Southern Ute Tribe; Dr. Douglas Holtz-Eakin, president of the American Action Forum; and Mr. Gilbert Harrison, a rancher and irrigator, and a member of the Navajo Nation.
Senator Barrasso’s remarks:
“Today we will examine the short and long-term impacts to tribal communities from the tragic spill of three million gallons of toxic wastewater from the Gold King Mine by Environmental Protection Agency personnel and their contractors.
“This toxic wastewater was first unleashed into the Cement Creek, a tributary of the Animas River, in Colorado and then flowed downstream to the San Juan River.
“The reach and repercussions of the August 5th disaster are substantial.
“This disaster is commanding attention from no less than four Congressional Committees in both the House and the Senate.
“Just this morning, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, on which I also serve, held an oversight hearing on the matter.
“This Committee hearing will focus on how the EPA’s actions have impacted the tribal communities residing in the path of this toxic plume unleashed by the EPA.
“Two of those tribes, the Navajo Nation and the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, are represented here today.
“The three million gallons of high concentrations of metals – including cadmium and lead, plus other substances such as arsenic were released into the waterways crossing these tribal lands.
“The chemicals in this spill turned the creeks and rivers into rusty contaminated sludge. There is no question that the EPA bears this responsibility.
“Almost a month after the spill, we are told the waterways affected have now returned to their normal color and that conditions have returned to pre-spill levels.
“This does not excuse the EPA’s negligence, or the environmental impact to tribal communities.
“Whether a private company or a federal agency itself carelessly blew out a mining wall and unleashed three million gallons of toxic materials into these waterways, both should be held accountable to the communities they negatively impact.
“In the immediate aftermath of the spill, we know that at least two tribal communities were—and are still–severely impacted.
“Both the Southern Ute Indian Tribe and the Navajo Nation were forced to issue state of emergency declarations in response to the spill.
“Ranchers and farmers on the Navajo Nation suddenly could not use the river water.
“Livestock couldn’t drink the water. Irrigation and canals went dry.
“Navajo President Russell Begaye stated in one press account that farmers and ranchers on the reservation have essentially-‘written off this year’s crops.’
“These losses are occurring in a tribal community where unemployment now stands at roughly forty-two percent.
“Many questions arise from this tragic, preventable spill that has hurt the peace of mind and violated the trust of these tribal communities.
“Why wasn’t the EPA prepared to protect tribal communities in case such a blowout occurred?
“Once the spill happened, how did the EPA respond to address the crisis occurring within the affected tribal communities?
“Several troubling conclusions are already coming to light. The first and most obvious is that a spill of this size and magnitude should never be caused by an agency whose sole mission is to protect the environment.
“Moreover, the EPA was not prepared to respond to the spill. The poor treatment the tribes received by the EPA as the crisis played out is simply unconscionable.
“Dr. Mathy Stanislaus, the EPA official in charge of addressing the spill, stated before the House Science Committee last week that- ‘We believe we have been as transparent as we possibly could.’
“He also said-‘I think we have been very transparent.’
“As the tribes will testify today, they completely disagree with the EPA’s rosy assessment of their actions.
“They do not believe they were adequately notified after the incident or consulted sufficiently with regard to remediation activities.
“In testimony before the House Science Committee hearing held last week, Dr. Donald Benn of the Navajo Nation stated that the EPA ‘downplayed the magnitude’ of the spill.
“The tribes also don’t believe that the EPA was doing sufficient water testing. Of the testing that was conducted, the tribes indicated that the EPA was not providing them with the water quality test data and sediment test data that they requested.
“Dr. Benn further testified that there is now a ‘culture of distrust’ between the tribe and the EPA. The EPA took a series of actions that made the agency appear insensitive to the needs of the tribes.
“For example, the Navajo Nation, at one point, confiscated and asked residents not to use EPA-issued water tanks.
“Navajo Nation officials believe the tanks were once used for oil and the Nation believed at the time that the water inside the tanks was unsafe for any use.
“It was a completely unacceptable response by a federal agency to a community whose water that agency had just contaminated.
“In addition, when EPA officials attempt to have Navajo Nation and Southern Ute tribal members sign a form that appeared to waive his or her right to claim future damages from this spill. The question is, why did the EPA officials do this?
“The tribal members would have had to calculate their short, their long term monetary damages without even knowing the full extent of why the costs to them and what the costs would be to them and their livelihoods.
“This is unacceptable during a crisis when people’s farms, ranches and businesses are under threat and the magnitude of the problem is still unknown.
“A major question that remains is how the EPA and which individuals will be held accountable for the spill and its aftermath.
“The EPA’s own documents and internal employee e-mails have revealed the agency officials knew about the dangers of a potential blowout at the mine.
“For example, the EPA released one document to several media organizations in August stating that back in June 2014 the EPA knew – ‘Conditions may exist that could result in a blowout of the blockages and cause a release of large volumes of contaminated mine waters and sediment from inside the mine, which contain concentrated heavy metals.’
“So let’s be clear, this accident was preventable and individuals should be held accountable.
“The actions of this agency and agency personnel in triggering or contributing to the spill and in dealing with its aftermath in Indian Country are a case study of agency incompetence, — of an agency incapable of meeting its sole mission.
“Their actions demonstrate why the EPA can’t be trusted to take on the array of regulatory overreaches that they have proposed. It is also a case study in how this agency disregards the needs of tribes during a crisis. These shortcomings are troubling and will be the subject of scrutiny today.”
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