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Sens. Bennet, Gardner Question EPA About Mine Spill: 'Unacceptable'

WASHINGTON, D.C. (CBS4)- It's been more than a month since 3 million gallons of toxic water poured from the Gold King Mine into the Animas River near Silverton, Colorado. On Wednesday, Colorado Senators Michael Bennet, a Democrat, and Cory Gardner, a Republican, teamed up to find out what happened from the Environmental Protection Agency.

An EPA-led crew triggered the spill on Aug. 5, tainting rivers in Colorado, New Mexico and Utah.

Bennet and Gardner were among other senators at the Senate Environment Committee hearing to cross examine Gina McCarthy, the administrator of the EPA on Wednesday. It was one of several hearings on the incident planned by Congress.

PHOTO GALLERY: Gold King Mine Tour

"Whether the EPA knew it was likely that water was impounded behind the Gold King Mine portal and a blowout was possible… Whether the health and safety plan for the Gold King Mine work was adequate," said Gardner. "Why did it take several days for the EPA to revise the amount of contaminated water? The agency initially said the amount was, I believe, 1 million gallons and several days later said the surge consisted of 3 million gallons. What data does the EPA have on the total amount of acid mine drainage on the Upper Animas Basin? How long has the agency been tracking the drainage and publicly measuring?"

McCarthy called the spill caused by her agency "tragic and unfortunate."

Gold King Mine Hearing
Gina McCarthy with the EPA at a Senate hearing on Wednesday (credit: CBS)

The spill turned the Animas River an eerily strange orange which angered residents, environmentalists and politicians.

"Although the EPA admitted responsibility there is no denying that they caused this spill and that's entirely unacceptable," said Bennet. "It's also clear that the agency was slow to communicate as Sen. Gardner said, with local governments and didn't obtain water quality results or bring water to farmers who needed it quickly enough. When Sen. Gardner and I traveled to Durango four days after the blowout the river was still bright orange and closed to the public. The Animas River really is the lifeblood of Durango."

It wasn't just Colorado's elected leaders who had some tough questions for McCarthy, but also a senator from Alaska who asked why similar actions to those of the EPA have sent others to jail in the past.

"Do you think anyone from the EPA should be held criminally liable or go to jail?" asked Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan from Alaska.

"I have not received the independent review that is going to fully tell me what happened at that site," said McCarthy.

Michael Bennet
Sen. Michael Bennet (credit: CBS)

McCarthy said a private company would likely not face fines for an accident that occurred during a clean-up similar to the one at the former Gold King Mine. The only exceptions would be if the company's actions went "against a settlement" or an administrative order by the EPA, she said.

McCarthy also defended the independence of a review being conducted by the U.S. Interior Department, which is investigating the accident at her request. While several GOP lawmakers asked for paperwork outlining the scope of the investigation, McCarthy said she did not have documentation, adding that it was up to officials at the Interior Department to decide what to look at and how the inquiry will be conducted.

CBS4's Rick Sallinger watched parts of the hearing with the Gold King Mine owner Todd Hennis who immediately took issue with McCarthy's explanation of what happened. She said the bedrock gave way at the portal, but Hennis disagrees.

"This is all part of the fairy tale that the EPA is trying to spin on the Gold King to divert attention that they back-filled it the year before," Hennis said.

He said by plugging up to the portal it closed off the drainage and allowed the water from an adjacent mine to accumulate inside the Gold King. Hennis questioned why the EPA and its contractor didn't try to immediately stop the flow with the heavy equipment it had on hand.

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