|
U.S. Congressman Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S. (AZ-04) released the following statement after he and 29 of his House colleagues demanded answers from EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy to questions relating to the unresolved August 5, 2015 contamination of Cement Creek:
“The staggering incompetence and complete lack of accountability from the EPA following the breach at the Gold King mine is incomprehensible. It is disgraceful that local elected officials and residents who were put at risk had to find out about this disaster through news reports. This event has highlighted the glaring hypocrisy within the Obama Administration. Rather than condemning these actions, like the White House did during spills by the private sector, the president and his mouthpieces have remained silent, tried to cover up this incident and directed all questions on this matter to the EPA. The double standard is sickening as this administration believes it can create its own set of rules when it is the one responsible for polluting our rivers.
“The real victims are the American people that develop health issues as a result of this spill, the people of the Navajo Nation who have had their primary water source contaminated, the local outfitters and businesses who have had to temporary close their operations as well as forgo significant revenues, and the local farmers and ranchers who have been unable to irrigate their crops or feed their livestock. We won’t know the full damage that has been done to Western communities from this incident for several years. Having said that, I support the Navajo Nation’s planned legal action and the legal action of any other citizens who were victims of this gross negligence by the EPA. This gutless and incompetent agency must be held accountable for releasing 3 million gallons of toxic waste into our rivers.”
Background:
The letter goes on to state:
“On August 5th, the work conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) at the Gold King Mine directly led to the release of approximately 3 million gallons of contaminated water and sediment into Cement Creek and the Animas River in southwest Colorado. Previous correspondence to your agency has urged greater interagency cooperation in responding to this catastrophe, as well as asked the EPA to develop short and long-term plans to address the environmental and economic harm caused to the affected communities and the industries and people that sustain them. It is our hope to see these concerns addressed promptly.
“We remain completely unsatisfied with the delay in notifying the impacted communities and elected officials responsible for preparing and responding to a disaster such as this one.”
The full text of the letter can be found HERE. Cement Creek is a tributary of the Animas River. Contaminants from this spill have negatively affected rivers that provide water for irrigation, recreation and drinking in New Mexico, Utah and Colorado as well as for the Navajo Nation.
The letter was signed by: Paul Gosar (R-AZ), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Hal Rogers (R-KY), Scott Tipton (R-CO), Michael Burgess (R-TX), Roger Williams (R-TX), Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA), Mike Pompeo (R-KS), Jeff Duncan (R-SC), Steve Pearce (R-NM), Joe Heck (R-V), David Rouzer (R-NC), Tom Emmer (R-MN), Keith Rothfus (R-PA), Mia Love (R-UT), Cresent Hardy (R-NV), French Hill (R-AR), Doug Lamborn (R-CO), Thomas Massie (R-KY), Mark Amodei (R-NV), Jason Smith (R-O), Thomas Rooney (R-FL), Raul Labrador (R-ID), John Ratcliffe (R-TX), Bill Flores (R-TX), Dave Brat (R-VA), Mike Coffman (R-CO), Chris Stewart (R-UT), Dan Newhouse (R-WA) and Vern Buchanan (R-FL).
###
|
