{"id":75705,"date":"2015-08-18T15:44:01","date_gmt":"2015-08-18T21:44:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=75705"},"modified":"2015-08-20T09:51:35","modified_gmt":"2015-08-20T15:51:35","slug":"after-river-disaster-is-it-time-to-re-evaluate-epa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2015\/08\/after-river-disaster-is-it-time-to-re-evaluate-epa\/","title":{"rendered":"After river disaster, is it time to re-evaluate EPA?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_73071\"  class=\"wp-caption module image alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 771px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-73071\" src=\"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/AnimasRiver2-771x428.jpg\" alt=\"A scene from the Animas River in La Plata County, Colo., after last week's spill.\" width=\"771\" height=\"428\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/AnimasRiver2-771x428.jpg 771w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/AnimasRiver2-336x187.jpg 336w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/AnimasRiver2-768x427.jpg 768w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/AnimasRiver2.jpg 900w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 771px) 100vw, 771px\" \/><\/a><p class=\"wp-media-credit\">La Plata County \/ Courtesy photo<\/p><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">A scene from the Animas River in La Plata County, Colo., after\u00a0the EPA inadvertently triggered the spill of 3 million gallons of toxic waste.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Exxon had its Valdez, BP had its Deepwater Horizon and now the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.epa.gov\/\" target=\"_blank\">U.S. Environmental Protection Agency<\/a>\u00a0has its Animas River disaster with which to contend.<\/p>\n<p>The federal agency ensured with safeguarding the nation\u2019s ecosystems is facing a barrage of criticism and charges of double standards after millions of gallons of toxic sludge containing cadmium,\u00a0lead, arsenic and mercury spilled into the Animas River after an EPA backhoe accidentally\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.wrcbtv.com\/story\/29756079\/officials-downstream-from-colorado-mine-spill-demand-answers\" target=\"_blank\">punched a hole into a waste pit<\/a>\u00a0during a clean-up effort at an abandoned gold mine in Colorado.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"module align-left half type-aside\">\n<h3>About this article<\/h3>\n<p>This article was originally published by Watchdog.org,\u00a0a project of\u00a0the <a href=\"http:\/\/franklincenterhq.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">Franklin Center for Government &amp; Public Integrity<\/a>, a nonprofit whose mission is to promote a well-informed electorate and a more transparent government.<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cNobody is going to take the attention away from EPA\u2019s incompetence on this,\u201d\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/epa-chief-apologizes-for-toxic-spill-affecting-rivers-in-colorado-new-mexico-1439321379\" target=\"_blank\">Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colorado, told the Wall Street Journal<\/a>. \u201cIf this was a private company, all hell would be breaking loose.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.heritage.org\/about\/staff\/l\/nicolas-loris\" target=\"_blank\">Nicolas Loris is an economist who focuses on energy, environmental and regulatory issues for the Heritage Foundation<\/a>, a conservative think tank that has been critical of EPA.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey\u2019re heavy-handed with their fines to an extent that it prohibits economic development, and when you have something like this that\u2019s their own fault, obviously the efforts to identify the problem and clean it up as efficiently and as swiftly as possible have been negligent,\u201d Loris told Watchdog.org.<\/p>\n<p>But Loris emphasized his larger question in the wake of the Animas River disaster centers less on EPA\u2019s initial response and more on the agency\u2019s reason for existing, some 45 years after it was created.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s really what\u2019s at the heart of the matter,\u201d Loris said in a telephone interview. \u201cTransitioning away from the federal government and devolving most of those decisions down to the states.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are just too many times the federal government and EPA are placing more stringent air quality standards that produce diminishing marginal returns that are almost to a vanishing point. Whether it\u2019s new ozone standards, the Clean Power Plan regulations for climate change all are going to cost the economy a great deal of money in terms of higher prices, higher compliance costs, lost jobs and less gross domestic product \u2014 all for minimal or negligible environmental benefits.\u201d<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>But can states really take on greater environmental responsibilities?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe states have shown they do care about their own backyards,\u201d Loris said. \u201cPeople don\u2019t want to pollute their own property. States don\u2019t want to do so either. That\u2019s not to say there aren\u2019t cross-border issues but that can be dealt with between states and through a federal arbitrator. So I don\u2019t necessarily think that returning the power to the states will result in environmental degradation. Just the opposite. I think states are better equipped to customize policies for the local conditions of their states.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/its.law.nyu.edu\/facultyprofiles\/profile.cfm?personID=20228\" target=\"_blank\">Richard Revesz, director of the Institute for Policy Integrity at the New York University School of Law<\/a>, vehemently disagrees.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe idea that environmental regulation can be devolved to the states is frankly ludicrous as an across-the-board argument because pollution doesn\u2019t respect state boundaries,\u201d Revesz told Watchdog.org. \u201cStates left to their own devices will not and cannot regulate pollution that has impact on other states. They have no incentive to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In the meantime, EPA is trying to minimize the damage that\u2019s rolled through Colorado\u00a0and\u00a0New Mexico and threatens Utah, Arizona and\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.latimes.com\/nation\/la-na-river-spill-20150808-story.html\" target=\"_blank\">possibly\u00a0even the Colorado River<\/a>\u00a0that\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Course_of_the_Colorado_River\" target=\"_blank\">flows into California<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/nation\/2015\/08\/12\/epa-chief-we-fully-accountable-toxic-spill\/31555403\/\" target=\"_blank\">EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy flew into Durango, Colorado<\/a>, last week\u00a0to look at the damage first-hand and promised the agency will take \u201cfull responsibility\u201d for the accident that she described as \u201cheartbreaking.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy job is to manage the agency and the response and to ensure everyone that we will be fully accountable,\u201d McCarthy said.\u00a0\u201cOur mission is to protect public health. We will hold ourselves to a higher standard.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>McCarthy said early testing shows the river\u2019s water quality has returned to the level prior to the spill, but\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.abqjournal.com\/627520\/news\/epa-good-news-on-river-water-testing.html\" target=\"_blank\">Colorado\u2019s attorney general told reporters<\/a>\u00a0the long-term contamination effects may take years to determine.<\/p>\n<p>EPA has been blasted on a number of fronts since the the breach occurred Aug. 5, some seven days before McCarthy arrived on the scene.<\/p>\n<p>State officials in New Mexico and Colorado as well as leaders of the Navajo Nation complained that EPA did not notify them of the spill until nearly 24 hours after it happened. A spokesman for New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez told Watchdog.org the governor\u2019s office first got word of the spill from an Indian tribe instead of EPA.<\/p>\n<p>In addition, the EPA first reported the spill was estimated at 1 million gallons, but that estimate was way too low.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/kutv.com\/news\/local\/spill-is-three-times-larger-than-originally-estimated-us-geological-survey-says\" target=\"_blank\">The U.S. Geological Survey reported the leakage to be about 3 million gallons<\/a>, turning the river into a mustard-colored mess.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am very concerned by EPA\u2019s lack of communication and inability to provide accurate information,\u201d said\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/nation\/2015\/08\/11\/epa-we-misjudged-pressure-gold-mine-before-spill\/31447379\/\" target=\"_blank\">Martinez, a Republican<\/a>. \u201cOne day, the spill is 1 million gallons. The next, it\u2019s 3 million. New Mexicans deserve answers we can rely on.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think we share the anger that something like this could happen,\u201d said\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/news\/ci_28621382\/john-hickenlooper-animas-river-banks-calls-disaster-unacceptable\" target=\"_blank\">Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat<\/a>. \u201cBut I think that said, our primary role is now: that\u2019s behind us and how are we going to move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is an all too familiar story on the lax oversight responsibility of the U.S. government,\u201d said\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.daily-times.com\/four_corners-news\/ci_28601678\/officials-declare-state-emergency-close-animas-river-san\" target=\"_blank\">Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye<\/a>, who added he had not received a telephone call from President Obama.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt seems like the Obama administration just closed their doors and disappeared,\u201d Begaye\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/2015\/08\/12\/epa-chief-heads-to-site-toxic-river-spill-amid-growing-anger-possible-legal\/?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+foxnews%2Fpolitics+%28Internal+-+Politics+-+Text%29\" target=\"_blank\">told Associated Press<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/secure.audubon.org\/site\/Advocacy?cmd=display&amp;page=UserAction&amp;id=1979\" target=\"_blank\">The Audubon Society has placed a petition on its website<\/a>\u00a0calling on EPA to \u201ccommit immediate and long-term resources for cleaning up and monitoring of all rivers affected by the mine spill.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But while EPA, through the Department of Justice, issued record\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.evostc.state.ak.us\/index.cfm?FA=facts.settlement\" target=\"_blank\">fines to private companies such as Exxon<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Deepwater_Horizon_oil_spill\" target=\"_blank\">BP<\/a>\u00a0in the aftermath of their disasters, it appears that under\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.abqjournal.com\/627504\/opinion\/clearing-up-questions-on-river-spill.html\" target=\"_blank\">the common law rule of \u201csovereign immunity\u201d<\/a>\u00a0the agency is protected from fines.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe government doesn\u2019t fine itself,\u201d\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/thomas-l-sansonetti\/\" target=\"_blank\">Thomas L. Sansonetti<\/a>, former assistant attorney general for the Justice Department\u2019s division of environment and natural resources,<a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/news\/2015\/aug\/11\/epa-wont-face-fines-polluting-rivers-orange-muck\/\" target=\"_blank\">\u00a0told the Washington Times<\/a>.\u00a0\u201cThe EPA does not fine itself the way that you would fine an outside company like BP.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Watchdog.org emailed questions to EPA headquarters in Washington, D.C., asking for comment on\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/news.investors.com\/ibd-editorials\/081115-766112-epa-plays-down-environmental-impact-of-its-own-massive-spill.htm\" target=\"_blank\">charges the agency employs a double-standard<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 one for private companies and another for itself \u2014 but did not receive a response.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/news\/ci_28626632\/\" target=\"_blank\">Colorado\u2019s attorney general said last week<\/a>\u00a0a lawsuit against EPA \u201cis certainly on the table.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe statements by the (EPA\u2019s administrator) indicate the EPA is accepting responsibility for the accident,\u201d said Colorado AG Cynthia Coffman, a Republican. \u201cThe question is: What does that mean? What does accepting responsibility mean?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Coffman, along with the attorneys general of New Mexico and Utah, say they are<a href=\"http:\/\/www.abqjournal.com\/627520\/news\/epa-good-news-on-river-water-testing.html\" target=\"_blank\">\u00a0trying to set up a face-to-face meeting with McCarthy<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile the spill is very important and something that\u2019s pressing and needs to be clean up, it speaks to a very big problem that the federal government is outdated and outmoded to handle the environmental challenges that the United States will deal with in the future,\u201d Loris said. \u201cThat\u2019s what the principles of environmental policy should be about\u00a0\u2014 improving the environment and not just checking a box and putting in these regulations.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think to look at a single, isolated event on something that went wrong and to say it\u2019s an argument for an across the board re-evaluation of policy that has been in place for 45 years is wrong,\u201d Revesz said in a telephone interview. \u201cI\u2019m sure we could find many cases in which states are responsible for various actions where things went wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Exxon had its Valdez, BP had its Deepwater Horizon and now the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has its Animas River disaster with which to contend.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":73071,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[147,116],"class_list":["post-75705","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","tag-environment","tag-washington"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75705","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75705"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75705\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/73071"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75705"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75705"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75705"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}