Pruitt Says EPA Wrongly Walked Away From Colorado Gold Mine Spill

Calling it a “wrong” that the Trump administration plans to fix, EPA Chief Scott Pruitt’s visited Colorado’s Gold King Mine spill site, the 2015 incident caused by EPA contractors that eventually contaminated water for millions.

Pruitt was at the site near Silverton, Colorado on Friday saying the EPA “walked away” from Colorado after the spill. He vowed to make a federal cleanup a priority and plans to reconsider damage claims rejected by the EPA under the Obama administration.

As the Denver Post reported, a delegation of Colorado’s top politicians accompanied Pruitt during the tour of the pollution site.

“I’ve already sent out a letter to all the claimants who have filed claims asking them to resubmit,” Pruitt told The Denver Post in a phone interview ahead of his visit to the Gold King. “Some of those folks I’m sure I’ll meet today, and I’m looking forward to speaking with them directly. Farmers and ranchers, business owners, the recreational activities that occur on the Animas River — all were impacted, and from my perspective it was a wrong that we need to make right.”

It was earlier this year when the EPA announced it would not pay damage claims from the Aug. 5, 2015 spill that dumped 3-million gallons of contaminated water into the Animas River.