Becca Hedges
Geo 3210-01
Dr. MacLean
27 Jan. 2017
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Reflection 4
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In the article “Silverton’s Gold King Reckoning” by Johnathan Thompson the Gold King Mine waste spill on August 5, 2015 near Silverton, Colorado was an epic environmental disaster. The EPA personal in conjunction with contractors from the Environmental Restoration LLC group were there to mitigate pollutants caused due to mining procedures. Residents of the nearby communities were born from miners of the area. These mining communities refused help from the Superfund to correct the problems that were left when the mine closed. The Superfund exists to remediate areas influenced by mines. The communities feared that they would lose the tourism revenue in the area because that is what was keeping the communities alive. It was not until after the spill occurred that the community leaders decided to take the Superfund money. In time the tourism of the area did not help the communities anyway.
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The presence of the EPA at the time of the spill was important because no one knew where the contaminants were initially coming from. Their entire intentions were to find the source and correct the issue. On the day of the spill an important worker was on vacation so work should not have been being done in the first place. The EPA was attempting to tap the tailing pond of the mine. This was a necessary procedure as they were trying to find out the depth of the pond. It started as a small amount then grew to a major breach. The EPA was highly criticized because they failed to alert anyone who might see the effects until the day after the spill. This was because the EPA knew they messed up. The EPA has since taken responsibility for this however, they refuse to pay for any damages incurred. In the material I read there was no mention as to why they will not pay for the damages even though they do claim responsibility for the incident.
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The spill containing toxic wastewater from a pond released three million gallons of tailings pond water containing heavy metals. Metals included are cadmium, lead, arsenic, beryllium, zinc, iron, and copper. These materials flowed into Cement Creek which is a tributary of the Animas River which is a tributary of the San Juan River that flows into Lake Powell. The main states affected by this contamination include Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona. The reason this disaster occurred is due to classic cause and effect events. The area should have been taken care of directly after the mine closed. The town should have taken money from the superfund to begin with. This was an avoidable event. Because the superfund was not used in the first place coupled with the negligence of the EPA employee who made the mistake which caused the breach, resulted in the contamination of many river systems.
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Mining can unfortunately have a substantial impact on the environment. In the book “Mining and its Impact on the Environment” by Fred G Bell and Laurence J. Donnelly the impact of mining can be manifested by the techniques used to extract the material and the size of the area which the material will come from. It can alter the landscape by the change in topography and hydrological conditions. To be more specific direct effects to areas directly surrounding a mine would include surface water contamination by spills like the Gold King Mine. Ground water also has potential contamination if contact is made through leaching when retention ponds are not properly created. Other things like the interruption of wildlife migrations and their food supplies would have a negative impact. If the land being mined is not reclaimed and or restored when it is closed it could pose several hazards to humans such as open pits where someone could fall, tunnels and caverns could collapse or house deadly gasses if inhaled like sulfuric acid. Not to mention they are eye sores on the landscape. Other effects noticed could be with mining settlements themselves. Mining attracts people and their families for work. If a community is revolved around a mine and the mine closes it has the potential of becoming a ghost town. There is also the pollution released into the atmosphere due to machinery not only in the extraction of materials from the ground, but also from the machinery used to process and transport the materials being mined.
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Alongside agricultural practices, mining is one of civilizations earliest practices. Also in the book “Mining and its Impact on the Environment” by Fred G Bell and Laurance J. Donnelly the first known mining operation occurred in the Lion Cave of Swaziland which dates to about 43,000 years ago. It is presumed that they were mining hematite to be used for pigments. These pigments were likely used in paints which left for us pictographs. Mining was a vital role in the development and continuation of civilization. While anyone can argue the pros and cons of mining I believe it is a good thing and we should continue to mine. Now I say it is a good thing to a point. We have many resources on Earth and they should be used but, they should be used responsibly above all else.
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If we continue to mine the way we are based off of consumer greed and ignorance then we will use our resources up leaving us no options but to return to living as they did in ancient times in dwellings made out of mud, clay, and moss. If you are lucky or wealthy maybe you can have a wood or rock house. If society was not as concerned with the initial high cost of alternative energy maybe we could make some advances which in return would decrease the demand on our non-renewable resources. Remembering that we do not just mine for building material but precious stones as well. Gems and crystals have value to them as well. Even if a day comes, for whatever reason we are not mining for resources like coal, oil, and gas; there will always be a demand for minerals like silver, gold, and other precious gems.
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Where we mine should not matter as long as the initial processes of mining are done in such a way that the land can and most certainly will be restored to the way it was before the operation began. It should also proceed in such a way that as little pollution of the environment as possible will occur whether it be in the atmosphere, on the surface, or underground. No matter what type of mining is occurring, there will always be some sort of impact it creates in return. The bottom line is if handled properly the majority of affects created can be corrected.