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Washington • Rep. Rob Bishop said Thursday that the Environmental Protection Agency broke federal law by not consulting with the Fish and Wildlife Service before a Colorado wastewater spill that damaged a critical habitat for an endangered species.
Bishop, a Utah Republican and chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, said the EPA knew there was a chance for a large spill of contaminated water and had a year to notify the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) before the August blowout that led to toxic wastewater pouring into rivers in Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona.
"You violated the law," Bishop told EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. "Period."
Bishop noted that there are criminal and civil penalties for not heeding federal law to coordinate with the FWS regarding potential damage to endangered species, in this case the Colorado pike minnow and razorback sucker. He read part of the contract with the cleanup company the EPA hired, noting there was a chance bedrock could cave and prompt a spill.
"Ma'am, you were anticipating this type of thing happening," Bishop said.
McCarthy responded that she was not aware there were criminal or civil penalties for failure to coordinate but that she does not believe any violation occurred because the EPA was there to help mitigate a shuttered mine and its leftover wastewater.
"We do not believe we constituted a failure...," McCarthy said, "because the actions we were taking were to prevent a blowout."
McCarthy, appearing at her third congressional hearing looking at the Animas River spill, said it was a "tragic and unfortunate incident, and the EPA has taken responsibility to ensure that it is cleaned up appropriately."
Arizona Rep. Raul Grijalva, the top Democrat on the Natural Resources Committee, said Republicans were trying to cast aspersions on the EPA because it was "holding the shovel when the spill occurred," even though the agency was trying to clean up a private company's leftover mess.
"This is being mined [by Republicans] like a gold mine and it's being mined like the gold rush," Grijalva said. He noted there are some 500,000 abandoned mines in the country, many of which need major reclamation, and that should be the focus of Congress.
Republicans, though, stuck to the Animas spill and grilled McCarthy during the joint hearing of the Natural Resources Committee and the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, the latter led by Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah.
In a testy exchange, Chaffetz asked McCarthy why her agency did not communicate more immediately with the Navajo Nation, which faced a risk from the wastewater spill. Chaffetz alleged there was a "complete lack of transparency" in how the EPA responded to those affected.
"What's your excuse for that?" Chaffetz asked.
"Sir, I admitted our response could have been better," McCarthy said. "We did take a day. I regret that. I wish it would have been earlier."
Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, asked McCarthy if any of her employees were under criminal investigation for their involvement in the wastewater spill. McCarthy said she was unaware of any such inquiry.
"I guess there's the rub, isn't it?" Gohmert said. "Your agency is above the law for all the damage you do to the environment."
Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye testified later Thursday that the EPA mishandled the cleanup, causing the spill, and mismanaged the response.
"It is important to realize that in addition to the many known and yet unknown physical, chemical, biological and economic effects of this spill, this spill has taken a cultural and spiritual toll on our society, disrupting our hozho," Begaye said in prepared testimony, using a Navajo word that blends beauty, order and harmony. "The trauma from this spill will be felt for years to come, and we need immediate and sustained help to restore the balance for our people."