EPA, the Department of the Interior, and the Gold King Mine Disaster - Part 4

In Part 4 of this series on EPA, the Department of Interior, and the Gold King Mine Disaster we explore an unusual coincidence. The blowout was actually predicted by a retired geologist a week before it happened.

Gold King Mine Disaster Predicted One Week Before It Happened

One week before the EPA dug into the Gold King Mine plug causing the blowout, a letter of warning was published. A retired geologist from Farmington, New Mexico wrote a letter to the editor of the Silverton Standard and Miner in Silverton, Colorado predicting exactly that type of event. Dave Taylor’s letter of warning to the Silverton community was published on July 30, 2015. Taylor stated his opinion that the EPA would intentionally cause mine wastewater to be released in order to secure Superfund money. [1,2,3]

Below are excerpts from his letter, which appear to be prompted by a June 23, 2015 Silverton meeting attended by Mr. Hestmark from the EPA in which the agency proposed to plug nearby mines as part of a “grand experiment”:

***

Based on my 47 years of experience as a professional geologist, it appears to me that the EPA is setting your town and the area up for a possible Superfund blitzkrieg…

Here’s the scenario that will occur based on my experience: Following the plugging, the exfiltrating water will be retained behind the bulkheads, accumulating at a rate of approximately 500 gallons per minute…..Initially it will appear that the miracle fix is working…..

But make no mistake, with in seven to 120 days all of the 500 gpm flow will return to Cement Creek. Contamination may actually increase due to disturbance and flushing action within the workings. The “grand experiment” in my opinion will fail. And guess what Mr. Hestmark will say then? Gee, ‘Plan A’ didn’t work so I guess we will have to build a treatment plant at a cost to taxpayers of $100 million to $500 million (who knows).

Reading between the lines, I believe that has been the EPA’s plan all along. The proposed Red & Bonita plugging plan has been their way of getting a foot in the door to justify their hidden agenda for construction of a treatment plant. After all, with a budget of $8.2 billion and 17,000 employees, the EPA needs new, big projects to feed the best and justify their existence.

I would recommend that anyone who owns a home, property water well or spring in the Cement Creek drainage take water samples ASAP to protect themselves from groundwater changes that may be cause by the EPA plugging operation! God bless America! God Bless Silverton, Colorado. And God protect us from the EPA. [4]

Dave Taylor, Farmington

Whether EPA had a “plan” for the blowout is a matter for debate. But if a geologist from New Mexico, applying his education, training and experience in the field, predicted the calamity one has to wonder why the EPA and all its experts could not foresee and do more to mitigate the risk of this terrible event. In Part 5 of this series, we will examine the decades-long battle between the EPA and Silverton, Colorado over Superfund designation of the area surrounding the Gold King Mine.