I hope these guys are fully insured.
EPA Contractor Involved in Colorado Spill Identified as Environmental Restoration
Fenton, Mo., company was tasked with mitigating pollutants from closed mine
By
Amy Harder,
Alexandra Berzon and
Jennifer S. Forsyth
Updated Aug. 12, 2015 6:58 p.m. ET
"Missouri-based Environmental Restoration LLC was the contractor whose work caused a mine spill in Colorado that released an estimated 3 million gallons of toxic sludge into a major river system, according to an Environmental Protection Agency official and government documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.
"The EPA, which was overseeing the servicing of the mine, had previously said an unnamed outside contractor was using heavy equipment when it accidentally triggered a breach in the abandoned Gold King Mine, letting out wastewater that had built up inside it.
“Environmental Restoration LLC was working at the direction at EPA in consultation with the Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety,” an EPA official said on Wednesday.
"Officials at the company, based in Fenton, Mo., didn’t return multiple calls for comment.
"According to various government documents, Environmental Restoration had signed an agreement to provide emergency protection from pollutants from the Gold King Mine, near Durango, Colo., in the southwestern part of the state. The spill has fouled the nearby Animas River, turning its water mustard yellow in the initial several days after the spill on Aug. 5.
"The money to fund the Gold King Mine cleanup comes out of EPA’s Superfund budget, according to Scott Sherman, a former deputy assistant administrator at EPA during the
George W. Bush administration who oversaw Superfund and other waste programs."
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