A New Policy to Help Good Samaritans Clean Abandoned Mine Sites
I secured a major victory for Colorado and the West when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) joined me in unveiling a new policy that unleashes the power of private groups and individuals, so-called Good Samaritans, to help clean up abandoned mines and protect our precious water. In addition to the physical hazards of dilapidated structures and open mine shafts at abandoned mines, the toxic soup of heavy metals, like arsenic, lead and mercury, coming from some of these sites flows into our watersheds, impairing drinking water and killing aquatic and plant life for miles downstream. This new policy, which EPA developed at my urging, gives Good Samaritans additional assurances they need to help us clean up these mine sites and protect our precious waterways from toxic mine runoff.
If you have further questions about this or any other issue, please contact me with your concerns.
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