Clean Water Act prevents cleanup

In Colorado, a lot of that water trickles into abandoned mines and washes across the tailings piles found in the upper end of nearly every drainage in the state. According to the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, there are at least 7,300 abandoned mines in the state, and 450 are known to be leaking measurable toxins – including arsenic, cadmium, copper and zinc – into the state’s watersheds. Yet according to the Post, the fear of liability has deterred anyone – companies that want to renew mining, water utilities, environmental groups and even governmental entities – from tackling the cleanup. If they accidentally make matters worse, they could face federal prosecution under the Clean Water Act for polluting waterways without a permit. That is wrong. Highly qualified contractors who submit mitigation plans that include detailed documentation about the potential for unexpected releases of contaminated material and plans for stringent monitoring should be held responsible only for conditions they can actually control. By all means, hold them to extremely strict standards; just do not hold them to impossible ones. The Environmental Protection Agency is willing to partially shield cleanup efforts from liability, but the Clean Water Act, ironically, will require legislative change to help clean up watersheds...more