Peter Butler, a longtime authority on all things Animas River water quality, has had it with the Environmental Protection Agency.
The reigning expert on the impacts of mine waste in the watershed has announced he will not seek reappointment to the Community Advisory Group he has been chairman of since its founding five years ago.
The group constitutes the community’s seat at the EPA’s table in discussions about the Bonita Peak Mining District, the Superfund site surrounding Silverton that contains 48 abandoned mines.
Butler informed CAG members of his decision to leave in a five-page memorandum dated Nov. 30, which he also submitted to EPA and county officials. The document details a list of specific examples, in which Butler says the EPA failed to adequately include the CAG.
“We are not consulted,” he wrote. “We are informed and given the opportunity to comment.”
In an interview with The Durango Herald, Butler said that the circumstances were likely inherent to working with a large federal agency and blamed the EPA’s “closed-off culture.”
The relationship between EPA officials working on the Bonita Peak Mining District and members of the CAG has always been unusual.
The group spawned from the Animas River Stakeholders Group, an assortment of concerned citizens organized in 1994 to address the water quality in the Animas River. The area around Silverton was finally designated as a Superfund site after the 2015 Gold King Mine spill, and the ARSG disbanded in 2019 after the CAG was formed.
The ARSG had a 25-year history of documented successes in addressing water quality issues stemming from the region’s historic mining activity. Butler, who holds a doctorate in natural resource management and policy, co-founded the ARSG, was chairman of the CAG since its inception in January 2019 and has long been recognized as a definitive expert on the impact of mine waste on the watershed.
Because of the extensive knowledge held by Butler and his peers, EPA officials have tried to accommodate the unusually high level of community interest in the cleanup. Unlike EPA employees, who tend to turn over every few years, Butler is among a cadre of experts with enduring knowledge of the watershed spanning three decades.
Although Butler said he likes the current EPA team, the constant turnover at the agency has meant that verbal promises are broken and institutional knowledge is lacking.
Stakeholders in Silverton and Durango have long been wary of the slow progress of the Superfund process and the bureaucratic nature of EPA activity. The ARSG was lauded for its efficiency and productivity, but liability issues prevented it from taking on the big issue: active draining mines.
Butler’s primary frustration is massive expenditures – $160 million since Gold King, he estimates – that have yielded very little improvement to water quality.
“It’s just kind of mind boggling how long it takes and how much they spend,” Butler told the Herald.
The construction of a water processing facility to treat drainage from the Gold King Mine two months after the spill is the only action that has had a significant impact on water quality, Butler argues.
In his memo, Butler charges that the EPA has given no indication that officials have used four year’s worth of water samples arduously collected by CAG volunteers; the agency’s goals are broad and poorly aligned; and specific remediation requests were ignored by the agency.
“EPA has mentioned on several occasions that they have developed a long-term monitoring plan for the BPMD,” Butler wrote. “Clearly, the CAG is interested in water quality monitoring, but EPA never reached out to seek any input in developing the plan. I cannot find the plan on the EPA Bonita Peak website.”
EPA Community Involvement Coordinator Meg Broughton declined to answer specific questions about Butler’s accusations and instead provided the Herald with a written statement.
“EPA is reviewing Peter’s memo and will work directly with the CAG to clarify and address the topics he raises,” the statement read, in part. “EPA always strives for broad and meaningful community engagement at Superfund sites. While the Superfund law and process, as mandated by Congress, can be prescriptive, our team is continuously seeking out-of-the-box ways to engage the community early and often.”
She also noted the EPA is developing additional engagement opportunities with the CAG and Silverton community to seek input earlier in the evaluation of cleanup alternatives for long-term water quality improvements.
In a meeting with La Plata County officials Wednesday, Broughton said Butler’s departure was “a huge, huge blow for us and a major loss.”
Ty Churchwell, mining coordinator for Trout Unlimited and secretary/treasurer of the CAG, said Butler leaves behind big shoes to fill. Although he shares many of Butler’s concerns, Churchwell said the group will continue working with the EPA toward final reclamation.
“(Butler) has put in more than his fair share of time,” Churchwell said. “It’s (for) the benefit of all of us who live in this watershed and we all, in this watershed, owe him a great debt of gratitude.”
Butler will preside over the CAG through January, but said that although he is stepping down, he intends to remain in Durango and available for consultation.
“I’m just feeling like I’m spinning my wheels and it’s just not worth my time,” he said.
rschafir@durangoherald.com
