We’ve long been told the West was won by the men, women and families who reshaped these landscapes. However, long before Manifest Destiny and our modern highways, water was the defining force of the American West. From the tiniest stream to the mighty Colorado River, Western water carved canyons through red rock and gave life to the desert. Today, water shapes our way of life, supporting our farms and sustaining cities from the Great Plains to the Pacific Coast.
Colorado, like so many other states, owes its genesis to water and the mineral booms of decades past. And those two threads, mining and water, remain intertwined in the West today. Abandoned mines — monuments to the boom times that fueled our Manifest Destiny — today pose one of the greatest threats to our waterways and way of life. Never has this reality been clearer than when well-meaning public officials last week accidentally discharged millions of gallons of toxic yellow slime from the Gold King Mine near Silverton into the Animas River.
While there must be accountability at the EPA for this terrible mistake, it is essential that our leaders do everything within their power to restore this vibrant waterway.
Even more important, we need our leaders in Washington to prevent similar disasters by funding and supporting cleanup efforts.
As modern stewards of the West, we are obligated to responsibly manage our precious waterways. That includes enlisting all the help we can get to remediate the tens of thousands of abandoned toxic hard-rock mines that dot the West.
During my time in the U.S. Senate, I pushed the EPA and others to strengthen the protections for so-called Good Samaritans — people who work to clean up abandoned mines. My efforts resulted in new guidelines that supported Good Samaritans who engaged in this important work.
But ultimately, Congress needs to pass legislation to truly unleash the potential of Good Samaritans in Colorado and across the West.
Resistance to this common-sense idea has been spread across the political spectrum. Some environmentalists have fought efforts to support private mine clean-ups for fear of blowing a hole in the Clean Water Act and other laws. Although I understand their concerns — laws like the Clean Water Act are the cornerstones of environmental protection — Tying the hands of Good Samaritans on principle undermines the protection and conservation of our natural resources.
Mining companies, too, have an important role to play. Simply walking away from these toxic landmarks is the opposite of corporate responsibility. Mining companies owe it to Colorado and other Western states to remediate their old mines.
The Gold King Mine was just one of thousands of ticking time bombs beneath our feet.
I have long believed that we don’t inherit the earth from our parents — we borrow it from our children. Giving Good Samaritans the tools they need to voluntarily help clean-up abandoned mine sites is a common-sense way to ensure that the West we give our children is one where rivers don’t run yellow.
Mark Udall represented Colorado in the U.S. Senate from 2009 to 2015 and in the U.S. House from 1999 to 2009.
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