Hmmm, I searched EPA on their site and had no hits. Then again, several of those listed articles were AFTER my post, which was a few days after the event.
My understanding is that this mine had not been active in nearly a hundred years, and it was water infiltrating from another mine that led to the build up.
I have ridden up the Animas from Silverton. There are many mining claims. Some abandoned, some active. I remember a sign in one shanty's doorway that said, "A mine is never abandoned, it is merely left until a later time". Just as we have naturally occurring asbestos here in Folsom, those "bad" minerals are naturally occurring in that area. While the mining of gold and silver releases them in a (geologically) rapid manner, water intrusion is the primary driver. For us, construction frees the asbestos locked in the rock much faster than wind and water could. Should miners be as good of a steward as possible? Of course. Should we abandon gold plated connectors in our electronics, nuclear power, steel and aluminum products, and plastics by avoiding getting our resources? Of course not. Each of those things require a resource that must be processed. That processing is not without potential side effects.
What the EPA did was arrogant and foolish. They are an agency run amok and spearheaded by ideologues who ignore their own scientists and conspire (illegally) with extreme environmental groups. As for their "slashed" budget, it was 7.8 billion in 1998 and 8.2 billion in 2014. The number of full time employees changed not at all from 1998 through 2008 and has reduced about 10-15% since (down from 17,500).
Perhaps you are unaware that new EPA regs soon to be enacted basically state that ANY water on any property can be regulated by the feds. Previously, it was only navigable waterways that were regulated. If you have a pond on your property, or a creek, or a ditch, or even a shallow area that collects rainwater, you are at the mercy of the EPA as to what use you have. Thankfully, 31 states are suing for an injunction against the regs until it can be tried in court. Unelected, agenda driven bureaucrats making regulations with the force of law are stripping our freedoms one bite at a time.
http://news.heartlan...ter-regulations
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive" -- C.S. Lewis
If the only way to combat "global warming" was to lower taxes, we would never hear of the issue again. - Anonymous
"Society in every state is a blessing, but Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one" — Thomas Paine, 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘚𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 (1776)
