|
<br />L<B>and</B> <B>mine<IB>
<br />
<br />Page 13 of 20
<br />
<br />.
<br />
<br />,
<br />
<br />Friedland made similar remarks in a private meeting with mine regulators,
<br />who decided not to seek closure of the mine.
<br />
<br />e
<br />
<br />Anne Baldridge, the mine inspector assigned to Summitville, said in a
<br />deposition that there was some sentiment to close the mine, But the leak
<br />didn't seem great initially, and Friedland seemed willing to deal with it.
<br />
<br />And like the Bank of America, regulators were not eager to inherit the mine,
<br />
<br />"Quite frankly, the division did not have the resources to take over the
<br />project and to deal with this problem," Baldridge said, "And I think there was
<br />a concern that if the mine got shut down, the operator just might say, 'OK,
<br />we're out of here,' and the division would be left holding the bag,"
<br />
<br />Galactic had been required to post a bond when mining began, But it was
<br />only $1.3 million, far less than the cost of cleaning up the growing mess,
<br />
<br />With little altemative, the board did nothing to halt mining, deciding only to
<br />fine the company $3,600 for allowing mud to wash into the creeks,
<br />
<br />In the months before the cyanide leaks, the mud had been the chief concern
<br />of regulators, Hay bales had been used to try to halt mudslides from the
<br />denuded hills.
<br />
<br />Baldridge said the general sloppiness of the site worried her during an initial
<br />visit the summer before construction began, Mud was everywhere, with tree
<br />branches sticking out of the mud and topsoil on top of trees,
<br />
<br />"There's a lot to be said for housekeeping and the way a site visually looks,
<br />in terms of how careful an operator is going to be," she said, "My first
<br />impressions ... were that this does not look like the operator is going to be
<br />that careful,"
<br />
<br />e
<br />
<br />After the winter construction, the place looked worse, Baldridge said,
<br />
<br />Some of it was cleaned up after Galactic hired an environmental coordinator
<br />for the site, Baldridge said,
<br />
<br />Friedland's promise to engineer a Space Age solution to the cyanide leak
<br />turned into talk about building a treatment plant so the polluted water could
<br />be legally discharged,
<br />
<br />But that plan wasn't pursued aggressively,
<br />
<br />'We didn't have money," said Leonard,
<br />
<br />So workers continued to pump the polluted groundwater back into the pool
<br />of cyanide solution,
<br />
<br />When the pumps failed. cyanide escaped into the creeks,
<br />
<br />At least eight spills occurred in 1987,
<br />
<br />But by that time, the state mining division was in no position to regulate
<br />Summitville - or anything else, In a dispute having nothing to do with
<br />Summitville, the Colorado legislature cut all funds to the agency as of July 1,
<br />1987,
<br />
<br />e
<br />
<br />The money was restored later in the year, but demoralized regulators had
<br />
<br />http://www.denver-nnn.comlnews/0507smmtl.shtml
<br />
<br />5/7/00
<br />
|