Steve Way, the Environmental Protection Agency’s on-scene coordinator for activities around the Gold King Mine, has retired, the federal agency confirmed last week.
Way spent 32 years working for the EPA, the last two in the area north of Silverton known as Gladstone, where the largest concentration of heavy metals discharge from inactive mines into Cement Creek, a tributary of the Animas River.
However, on Aug. 5, Way was on vacation when an EPA-contracted crew breached the loose pile of dirt and rock collapsed over the Gold King Mine, releasing a massive mustard yellow-colored plume of heavy metal sludge.
Regardless of his absence and clear orders not to touch the entrance of the mine, Way became the center of intense criticism.
“Sadly, it appears that Mr. Way is going to be the sacrificial lamb here and that is very disappointing,” state Rep. Don Coram, a Republican from Montrose, wrote to The Daily Sentinel of Grand Junction.
“Mr. Way has had an exemplary career, having worked with the Washington, D.C., anthrax mitigation project, and the Hurricane Katrina and World Trade Center recovery efforts. Mr. Way and his field team are well qualified and experienced mine reclamation officials, but it seems the bureaucratic EPA leadership ignored their concerns for a potential blowout.”
The EPA declined to comment for this story, claiming “the agency doesn’t comment on personnel matters.” Efforts to reach Way were unsuccessful.
In 2014, the EPA decided that metal-laden discharges from the Red and Bonita and the Gold King mines had gotten so bad, it would begin a $1.5 million remediation project.
The plan, originally, was to place a bulkhead on the Red and Bonita mine, which at the time, was pouring out 500 gallons of acid mine drainage per minute, accounting for about 18 percent of the heavy metals in the Animas River.
Knowing that plugging the mine might have the same effect as the American Tunnel (Sunnyside Gold Corp.’s bulkhead, which is considered the culprit for increased discharges out of Red and Bonita and Gold King), Way laid out a monitoring plan that would allow the agency to open and close the valve as needed.
In late July 2015, crews began exploring the Level 7 adit of the adjacent Gold King Mine, which was well-documented for its potential of a blowout. Way, aware of this risk, postponed further work on the mine pending more preparation and study.
But while he was on vacation, his replacement, Hays Griswold, ordered crews to clear the dirt blocking the tunnel to install a pipe to divert the contaminated water.
The contractors, St. Louis-based Environmental Restoration LLC, dug too far, causing the massive blowout on Aug. 5. The actions of that day remain a source of suspicious speculation.
The EPA has claimed Griswold’s orders were “completely consistent” with the direction set by Way prior to his leave. Yet, emails released after the spill clearly show Way said to not excavate the adit until a series of tasks were completed to prepare for its opening – tasks an investigation found Griswold did not complete.
In a February report, the House Committee on Natural Resources flogged Griswold for veering from Way’s instructions, and said Griswold’s post-spill testimony raised “serious questions about nearly everything ... about the EPA’s work at the Gold King Mine and the disaster caused by the EPA.”
“EPA needs to come clean on who gave the order to proceed as the contractors did on Aug. 5, 2015, at Gold King #7 level,” local filmmaker Tom Schillaci wrote in a public comment. “Who gave Hays Griswold the order to use an excavator to open that portal that day?”
EPA officials confirmed that Griswold still works for the EPA.
Despite the spill, Way is regarded among colleagues as an apt, sharp manager when it comes to mine remediation. Peter Butler, coordinator of the Animas River Stakeholders Group, said the longtime volunteer coalition agreed with many of Way’s decisions in the mining district.
“We supported putting a bulkhead in Red and Bonita, and opening up the Gold King,” Butler said. “I think he was a very capable person.”
Butler also commended Way for the quick cleanup of mine waste left behind from the blowout in a nearby gully, as well as the speedy installment of a temporary water-treatment plant for Gold King discharges before the hazardous winter weather set in on the remote area.
Speculation on whether the spill would have occurred had he not gone on vacation remains just that: speculation.
“It’s 20-20 hindsight at this point,” Butler said.
The EPA said in a prepared statement, that in Way’s place, “Joyel Dhieux will manage removal activities at the Gold King and Red and Bonita mines, and Kerry Guy will manage the interim water-treatment plant at Gladstone. Paul Peronard will serve as backup OSC (on-scene coordinator) and provide technical support to the team.”
jromeo@durangoherald.com
