EPA withholds toxic mine spill documents from Congress

animas riverBy Star Fox

Congress is slamming the Environmental Protection Agency for withholding documents pertaining to the enormous amount of toxic chemicals it sent into the largest source of drinking water for the western part of the United States.

“It is disappointing, but not surprising, that the EPA failed to meet the House Science Committee’s reasonable deadline in turning over documents pertaining to the Gold King Mine spill,” said Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX). “These documents are essential to the Committee’s ongoing investigation and our upcoming hearing on Sept. 9. But more importantly, this information matters to the many Americans directly affected in western states, who are still waiting for answers from the EPA.”

The House Science, Space and Technology Committee gave the EPA until Tuesday morning to hand over documents surrounding the agency’s clean-up effort. The EPA failed to produce a single document.


On August 5 EPA contractors triggered the release of 3-million gallons of toxic waste water – containing arsenic, lead, copper and cadmium – from the Gold King mine into the Animas river near Silverton, Colorado.

The disaster was able to happen even though the agency was aware of the need for caution while excavating the idle mine.

“EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy is currently crusading on climate-change action in Japan while President Obama, who has yet to visit the areas affected by the spill, is touring the U.S. to tout EPA’s latest regulation that will do little to impact climate change and will only further burden Americans with higher electric bills,” Rep. Lamar Smith reportedly reacted.

EPA official Gina McCarthy has been asked to appear in front of Congress for questioning but has been unresponsive, reports WatchDog.com.

McCarthy is being criticized for not visiting the town of Silverton post-spill and is taking heat for the EPA’s late delivery of spill notification to surround states.

“As the agency entrusted by the American people to protect the environment and ensure the nation’s waters are clean, the EPA should be held to the highest standard,” Smith said. “The Science Committee needs to hear from the EPA about steps it is taking to repair the damage and to prevent this from ever occurring again.”

A source familiar with the House Science, Space and Technology Committee told WatchDog.org that members of Congress are stressed over number of reports showing EPA incompetence or flat-out disregard in a variety of situations not just the Animas River spill.

Interestingly, a Senator from Utah is kickstarting investigations into the allegations that the EPA intentionally caused the Gold King mine spill in order to create a Superfund site.

“EPA gets a failing grade from me for pursuing an extreme agenda at the expense of our nation’s economy, American interests, and, in this case, environmental protection,” Smith told Watchdog.org. “The more I review reports from the spill, the more questions I have about EPA’s faulty processes and failure to communicate with local residents and officials.”

Along with the failing grade from Rep. Lamar Smith, the EPA is receiving a big fat ‘F’ from the Navajo Nation who received emergency water from the EPA that was stored in dirty oil tanks.

Star Fox is a U.S. based journalist who contributes to Eyesopenreport.com. His works have been published by recognizable alternative new sites like GlobalResearch.ca, ActivistPost.com and Intellihub.com. Follow @StarFoxReport


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24 Comments on "EPA withholds toxic mine spill documents from Congress"

  1. Congress is a bunch of sold out political prositutes, who are figure heads to make the American sheeple think they have some say in their slavery. They have no power to do anything that their owners does not want done.

  2. .
    It was not a spill, spills are accidental, this was an out and out chemical dump. You do not spill 3 million gallons.
    .

  3. Congress should issue a suponea and if she doesn’t appear arrest her and drag her to answer to Congress if she doesn’t comply.

  4. The whole Government is a joke.
    Fire her.

  5. Good Question.

    • It’s because he is FULL OF BULLSHYTE and LYING about it. Just another liberal Enviro-whacko that is probably a member of the “sierra club” or works for the EPA.
      In other words a total idiot and moron that shouldn’t be believed.

      • Taken from EPA’s own website…..

        Our Mission
        The mission of EPA is to protect human health and the environment.
        EPA’s purpose is to ensure that:
        all Americans are protected from significant risks to human health and the environment where they live, learn and work;

        End statement should read…; Ha,Ha, we were only fooling Suckers…

  6. Why is this not surprising as we see the same with the IRS. President Obama and his Administration are corrupt to the core. The Southwest continues to be a target of President Obama and the Obama Administration.

  7. So???..The EPA withheld documents from Congress? BFD? But so does the IRS, BLM, FBI, NSA, TSA, & ect. Like what difference does it make? Our LAME DUCK RINO’s in Congress won’t do a thing about it anyway. Worthless DC toothless tiger’s.

    • This is why we need to vote all these people out and vote in people
      that are not politicians. I just found out that my small city just lost
      $400,000 and is putting up a $35,000 statue to someone that people under
      65 years of age never heard of. I am going to the next City Commision
      meeting to complain and find out why the Commissioners did not know
      about this $400,000 loss before this and find out why the person that
      just let this go is not fired. I also want to know why the Commissioners
      can’t put up a plaque for $1,000 dollars instead of a $35,000 statue.
      I don’t like when politicians spend other peoples money with out
      using their brains.

  8. Typical lawless behavior by another Obama agency. He is so busy selling out America he doesn’t have time to make the Federal Agencies in his Administration accountable for their mismanagement. In this case it’s the EPA who’s dropped the ball on toxic mining water being spilled into the Animam River a river that flows into

  9. Send the FBI and FEDERAL MARSHALS to the offices of the EPA and Take EVERYTHING including ALL the computers, Laptops, paper files and cell phones; THEN ARREST the Head of the EPA for ignoring a Congressional demand and failing to meet the deadline.
    FIRE ALL the morons connected with the spill, cancel ALL of their benefits and retirement. Cancel ALL Of the EPA “Regulations” passed since Obama took office.
    Maybe THAT would put the fear of GOD and the Congress into the Federal Agencies.

  10. UNHUH,Sure paul; I really really believe that .
    Now back to your liberal troll out house you enviro-nazi whacko.

  11. Abandoned by capitalist, means the banks that financed the mine and the insurance company’s are invisible to the laws of the land they abandoned. Capitalist will use this same trick on old Nuclear power plants also, get ready for abandoned messes all over the west. Citizens can not abandon responsibility and that is what capitalist are getting away with.

  12. declare this to be an act of enviremental terrorism and have the epa disbanded and never to be allowed to operate againall they do is destroy our freedoms and steal from us and our buisness,s it time to shut them down and try them as the criminals that they are!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  13. the epa are nothing but fedraly funded terrorist shut them down TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  14. There are a lot of EPE employees Lets give these responsible for this spill the job of personally Cleaning up the stream banks. They are all ready on the payroll but they should be working on the clean up daylight to dusk. and pay for their own food and lodging. And they should start on Labor Day. The rest of us who can will take the day off

  15. Nuclear medium and high level waste used in fracking. And I suppose you can back that up, right?? I can’t wait to hear this.

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