The Environmental Protection Agency is suing Colorado Springs for
inadequate drainage facilities, because the EPA purportedly cares so
much about clean water. The outdated infrastructure could, conceivably,
cause trouble downstream. City officials raced to upgrade facilities
long before the suit, committing hundreds of millions to do so.
Regardless, the EPA wants a pint of blood.
Meanwhile,
in a move of brazen hypocrisy, the same EPA says it absolutely,
positively will not reimburse farmers, ranchers, Indian tribes, rafting
companies, rafting workers and others who suffered financial losses from
the agency's 2015 Gold King Mine spill. The agency claims sovereign
immunity. With the spill a distant memory in the collective mindset, the
EPA won't pay a dime. Harm from the EPA's offense is not speculative,
as it is with Colorado Springs' drainage problems. People are hurting
because of the Gold King spill.
The agency's refusal to pay is in
stark contrast to its song and dance immediately after the spill, in the
midst of an epic public relations crisis, Back then, the EPA promised
all injured parties would be reimbursed. We're from the government and
we're here to help.
The EPA filed suit against the Springs nearly a year after Mayor John
Suthers finessed a commitment to spend $460 million to build
state-of-the art stormwater facilities. Water customers of Colorado
Springs Utilities will pick up the tab. New infrastructure will comply
with or exceed federal standards. Whatever money the EPA costs Colorado
Springs is capital the city cannot spend expediting improvements to
protect clean water.
If EPA officials cared about the public that
funds their agency, they would compensate victims of the Gold King
spill. If they cared about clean water, they would not obstruct a
community's massive effort to protect it. Clearly, the EPA cares mostly
about the EPA.
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