Gardner On Gold King Mine: 'Broken Promise After Broken Promise'
WASHINGTON (CBS4) - Senator Cory Gardner is drawing attention back to the Gold King Mine spill, and the EPA's response.
Friday morning, the Senate confirmed President Trump's pick to head the Environmental Protection Agency. Former Oklahoma attorney general Scott Pruitt won the confirmation, 52-46.
Speaking in the debate prior to the confirmation, Gardner said that that Pruitt has promised to keep the promises made by the previous administration.
PHOTO GALLERY: Gold King Mine Tour
"Mr. President, this past election the voters said they wanted something different from the last eight years in Washington because what they experienced was not working for the people, broken promise after broken promise," Senator Gardner said.
Gardner says that in the final days of the Obama administration, he was informed the EPA would not process claims related to the spill.
Nearly 540 tons of metals from the abandoned gold mine contaminated the Animas River in 2015, in a 3-million-gallon spill, according to the EPA, which released details of the incident in January.
Senator Gardner voted to confirm Pruitt, while Colorado's Democratic Senator Michael Bennet did not.
RELATED: Feds Seek To Dismiss New Mexico's Claims Over Mine Spill
