In the days after the sent yellow-orange wastewater cascading into three states, calls to hold the Environmental Protection Agency accountable for the disaster were swift.
The drumbeat included Colorado’s governor, who called the accident ” ,” and the state’s top prosecutor chastising the EPA .
But now, more than six months after the spill, Colorado is the only of the three states impacted by that has not announced plans to take legal action against the EPA.
and say they will bring the federal government to court. The Navajo Nation .
Colorado Attorney General Cynthia Coffman, through a spokesman, declined on Tuesday to speak about those cases or why she has not announced any legal plans.
“We have received notice that other parties will bring a lawsuit and therefore in anticipation of litigation won’t comment,” Coffman said in a statement to The Denver Post.
A spokeswoman for Gov. John Hickenlooper said Colorado has no plans to sue the EPA.
Silverton town leaders and the San Juan County commissioners have scheduled a meeting for Monday to decide if they should request federal Superfund status through the governor’s office. The , but the state’s request to the feds to be considered for the program this year. Mark Eddy, spokesman for Silverton, said Wednesday a vote should come Monday night after the public comment session, which will focus on the boundaries of a proposed Superfund site.
“The goal is to have everything wrapped up that night,” Eddy said.
About a week after the spill, Coffman summoned her counterparts from New Mexico and Utah to a summit in Durango, where all three . In the weeks that followed, Coffman said the group was in talks about moving forward.
In mid-January, the New Mexico Environment Department filed notices of intent sue the EPA, the Colorado Department of Natural Resources and the owners of the Gold King and other surrounding mines.
While the state’s environment department has hired outside counsel to handle the case, officials say the New Mexico’s attorney general, Hector Balderas, will be assisting. Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes announced his plans to sue the EPA on Friday based on reports the agency didn’t alert his state to the extent of the river contamination after the 3 million-gallon spill.
“We waited to take legal action because in good faith we hoped that cooperation with the EPA could bring more rapid reimbursement and remediation,” Reyes said in a statement. “Perhaps there is a still a chance for that to happen, but Utah needs to be in a position to file a lawsuit if the federal government is not more responsive and transparent.”
