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Mining company rejects EPA order for Superfund cleanup work

(Brennan Linsley | AP file photo) Water flows through a series of retention ponds built to contain and filter out heavy metals and chemicals from the Gold King Mine nearly Silverton, Colorado, on Aug. 12, 2015.

(Brennan Linsley | AP file photo) Water flows through a series of retention ponds built to contain and filter out heavy metals and chemicals from the Gold King Mine nearly Silverton, Colorado, on Aug. 12, 2015.

Durango • A mining company says it won’t carry out cleanup work ordered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as part of a Superfund project in southwest Colorado.

The Durango Herald reported Wednesday that Sunnyside Gold Corp. sent the EPA a letter saying the company isn’t responsible for pollution flowing from inactive mines in the area.

The EPA wants Sunnyside to help pay for some of the initial investigations into the Bonita Peak Superfund cleanup, citing the company's previous mining activity there.

The EPA says it will review Sunnyside's letter before deciding its next step.

The Bonita Peak Superfund project includes the Gold King Mine, source of a 2015 spill that polluted rivers in Colorado, New Mexico and Utah. An EPA-led contractor inadvertently triggered the spill while excavating at the mine entrance.


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By The Associated Press